Spiritual Life
Our Need for Mercy
By Pat Angelo
Protestant Channel-Christianity.com
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Let's face it: Some of us have done some pretty impressive things in
the Lord's name.
One person reads the Bible for an hour a day. Another memorizes chapter
after chapter of God's Word. Still another performs works of service
that bring the comforts of food, clothing and shelter to people who
need them.
"What other people
think of me is becoming less and less important," he said. "What they
think of Jesus because of me is critical."
But no matter what we do, nothing we accomplish is enough to relieve
us from this one ambiguous law of the universe: All of us are sinners
who need God's grace.
Take it from Karl Barth, a renowned European theologian who did more
before he was 20 than most of us will accomplish in three times that
many years:
"When once the day comes when I have to appear before my Lord, then
I will not come with my deeds, with the volumes of my [Dogmatics] on
my back. All the angels there would have to laugh. But then I shall
also not say, 'I have meant well; I had good faith. No, then I will
only say one thing; 'Lord, be merciful to me, a poor sinner!'"
John of Carpathos lived centuries before Barth wrote his classic works,
but he understood our need for ongoing appeals to God's mercy as we
make our pilgrimage through life:
"When you follow the Lord with burning love, it may happen that on the
road of life you strike your foot against the stone of some passion
and fall unexpectedly into sin; or else, finding yourself in a muddy
place, you may slip involuntarily and fall headlong. Each time you fall
and in this way injure your body, you should get up again with the same
eagerness as before, and continue to follow after your Lord until you
reach him."
Reading the wise words of saints like these, it quickly becomes clear
that, no matter how many impressive-sounding things we all do, nothing
is as impressive as God's surpassing love for us.
Cliff Richard, the British musician who has enjoyed more than his share
of earthly accolades, has learned over time that his own accomplishments
don't matter all that much.
"What other people think of me is becoming less and less important,"
he said. "What they think of Jesus because of me is critical."
Courtesy of Pat Angelo
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