Wednesday, June 16

Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways, according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord.
Psalm 25:4-7

Thank the Lord today for his mercy and forgiving love, and ask him to teach and guide you in his truth today.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Matthew 5:7, 9

In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey tells a story about theologian and author Henri Nouwen. Nouwen had given a portion of his life to serve in a ministry to the severely handicapped. Yancey went to visit Nouwen and watched as he spent hours simply bathing and dressing a resident of the ministry named Adam. When Yancey asked respectfully whether Nouwen ever felt like such service might be taking away from his more productive calling of teaching and writing, Nouwen said, “I am not giving up anything; it is I, not Adam, who gets the main benefit from our relationship.”

This is the mystery and power of Jesus’ teaching; we experience God’s blessing not by pursuing it for ourselves – but by offering it to others.

Our culture bombards us with messages like, “Have it your way,” “You deserve a break today,” and “Reward yourself, you’re worth it!” The result of living for ourselves and our own needs is the acquisition of lots of stuff – but little blessing. Jesus is teaching us to live “upside down,” that is, to understand that our blessing is found in service to others.

As a church, FBCG sends a number of short term missions teams to serve somewhere in the world every year. When our teams return, it is quite common for team members to say things like, “While we went to (Turkey, Ecuador, Appalachia, Mexico, Austria) to serve and bless others – we were the ones who were most blessed!” This is because God promises his favor to those who share his mercy with others.

Take a few moments to think about your life – and the people you either pass by or come into contact with every day. Who in your life might need the gift of mercy? Who might need a simple expression of care? Who might need a word of peace or encouragement? Ask God to allow you to see the needs of others – to respond to those needs in some way – and therefore to experience his blessing!

Brian Coffey