“3Blessed 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, 4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” — 1 Peter 1:3-5 (ESV)
And there you have it. God provided mercy for me and as a result I have a living hope, an inheritance that is imperishable, and a salvation to come.
I have to continue to living as the example that Jesus provided for me. I have to provide mercy for those around me. I have to grant them the same opportunity for a living hope, an inheritance that is imperishable, and a salvation to come.
I am here to give opportunity for others. I am sure that most have heard the saying that goes something like this, give a man a fish and you have fed him for the day, teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime. Now there are a lot of discussions as to the origin of this saying, yet it does not change the impact it has. It is about giving opportunity as I see it as well as other meanings, although that opportunity is how it applies here to my study. I have to provide the opportunity to gain something additional and sustaining. It is through mercy that I am able to accomplish that.
I am not responsible for how this opportunity is used. I am here to serve up the mercy so that the opportunity is presented for a future and the reward that comes with it. God will take over once I have provided the mercy and the opportunity. No, I am not done, it is just that God is the only one who can finish the work, I am here only to plant the seeds and continue to follow His direction in the work He has for me. Yes, in some cases that may be to stick it out with the individual, although I will not know that until I arrive in the moment and follow Him.
God has promised rewards for His people. Noah, and his escape from the flooding of the earth. The Israelite people freed from Pharaoh. In each of those and in my life, the reward came as a result of the mercy God provided allowing for the opportunity for that reward to be manifest later. I have to provide mercy to others to allow those opportunities in their lives.
What are you out there providing for people? Are you out there giving that which others want in the now? What if you gave them an opportunity for the future reward by giving them mercy?
Trevor's Thoughts 