I’ve been extremely busy lately, and the fruit of the spirit has fallen several times, so to speak. (The Tagalog vernacular puts it so much more wittily: “nahulog ang prutas.”) Gosh, I’ve been a terrible person. Not even “Christian.” Just, person. Even in the eyes of the world, I feel like something’s amiss.
Too often I forget that I am an ambassador of the King, and that it is only by mercy that I am even allowed to approach His throne. When I lose my temper, when I say a snarky remark, when I respond with anger instead of love and patience, I dishonor God and everything He stands for. Today, I was reminded of this in 1 Peter 1:3:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” According to his great mercy. God chose for it to be so, that His mercy allowed us to come near, to approach Him, to be freed of this great burden, and to be washed clean through Jesus’ miraculous resurrection. Only by mercy and only through grace can we be released of the guilt. Yes, there are consequences, but by far and large, God forgets the sin and God allows us to “live again,” so to speak.
I’ve been a Christian for almost ten years. But there is so much yet to know, so much yet to do, so much yet to be thankful for and sorry for and accountable for. Thank God for mercy, because otherwise, gah, I’d be absolutely nowhere.
