Day 15 - Show Mercy

Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

I am currently in a state of awe over the state of affairs in Haiti. It’s so much devastation. I was looking through photos of the effects of the earthquake and you can see the desperate need. If you look at any of the faces, there’s a sense of hopelessness, of great loss. They need a love and mercy, not condemnation and empathy. They need us not to be just compassionate, but to show our compassion. This is the way I feel God speaking to me about today’s dare.

I am saddened, whether or not there’s any truth in the statements, by the response of a well-known leader in the Christian church. What these people need right now is not condemnation and doomsday prophetic words from the Scripture, they need hope. They need to be fed. They need water. They need their physical needs met. When these are met, there will be time to deal with their spiritual state. But until then, we must be merciful and full of compassion.

Today, I take the DARE: to follow in Jesus’ footsteps by living a life marked by generous acts of mercy.