A Simple Path to Following Jesus by Rusty George

Author:Rusty George
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Living;REL012000
ISBN: 9781493429882
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2020-10-29T00:00:00+00:00

For Those We Know

These are our friends. Our family. Our co-workers. Our crazy cousin and the brother-in-law of whom we do not speak. We know these people, we work with these people, we even like some of these people. And sometimes they are in need of help, encouragement, assistance, or even forgiveness. Perhaps they have hurt us or betrayed us in some way. Maybe they owe us an apology they’ve yet to give for a car they totaled or a Christmas vacation they ruined. Whatever the case, if in spite of what they owe you, you refuse to let them end the relationship, and if you grant them kind, faithful, recurring mercy, that’s the type of generosity God has modeled for us in his relationship with the Israelites.

God not only grants this to the nation of Israel when they first leave Egyptian slavery, but he also continues this pattern over and over again through the period of the Judges.

The children of Israel were led by Moses, then by Joshua, and then by Judges appointed by God. But this begins a three-hundred-plus-year pattern of God’s people disobeying, then facing the consequences, then receiving God’s mercy.

Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

Judges 2:18–19

These people had a pull toward evil. They were easily distracted and enamored by the gods of neighboring countries. Sure, these gods had never delivered their people from Egyptian rule, these gods had never parted the Red Sea, these gods had never provided manna and quail in the desert, but they did allow prostitution as acts of worship. So for some reason, these people were easily persuaded. I’m so glad that we’ve grown beyond that!

God would allow them to feel the full weight of his justice and their consequences, but when they would cry uncle, he would step in with mercy. Kind, faithful, and compassionate. He would rescue them and appoint a new judge to lead them. And over three centuries they would obey, then rebel, then suffer, then cry uncle, and God would use a total of fifteen judges to bring them mercy.

Time and again God continues to act justly but then show mercy. Why does he do this? Because this is who God is . . . and this is who he asks us to be.

Granting kind, faithful mercy to those who are closest to us should be easy. After all, some of these people we are talking about are loved ones. It’s easy to grant mercy to our kids. We have to fight to NOT give too much mercy at times. It’s easy to grant mercy to those who can bless us.

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