1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian When will you show you care? | Page 6
which,as we said on Sunday, desires for a better position for its recipient. (I will
explain more of this tomorrow).
Suffice to say that this leaves us, as followers of Christ, with a huge challenge. Simply
put, it could be asked HOW MERCIFUL ARE WE? That if we claim to have received
of the Grace of God, mercy should be a natural outworking of us being beneficiaries
of God’s grace.
Prayer Thought: Won’t you take a moment today to thank God for His grace that
forgave us of our sin, and His mercy that creates for us the possibility of a better
position in this life and the life to come. Feed your soul on this truth and as you go
through this day, won’t you remind yourself continually of what you have just read.
Thursday
Matthew 25 v 31 – 46
Matthew 20 v 1 – 16
For our Bible reading today I have askedyou to read the entire section, as it relates
to Jesus and His mystical relationship with the poor and the needy.
There is a beautiful Hebrew word, “Shalom” that is not just a word of greeting
between Jewish people, but is a whole lot more. “Shalom”, to many people, is just a
greeting that suggests “peace”, but in the true context of the word “Shalom” is also a
blessing. It is a prayer for prosperity and that God would lead that person to whom
you give this greeting, to a “better condition” in life.
This so affirms our thesis of yesterday’s devotion, where mercy is seen to be a result
of love and is an outworking of grace. The actions of Matthew 25, i.e. feeding the
hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, visiting the stranger, clothing the naked, caring
for the sick, and visiting those in prison, are all aspects of our desire to help people
find this “better condition”. Every time we feed the hungry we contribute to
“Shalom”. Every time we rise up against injustice we contribute to “Shalom”. Every
time we put a guard upon our lips we contribute to “Shalom”. These are the actions
that God takes seriously for those who have received of His grace.
Mercy, however, is not always sensible. In Matthew 20 we have the story of the land
owner who employed people at different times of the day and paid them all the
same wage. At the end of the day, those who had worked for the whole day were
somewhat disgruntled that they got paid the same as those who had only worked