Unfailing Love and Faithfulness

But you, O Lord,
    are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
    and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
Look down and have mercy on me.
    Give your strength to your servant;
    save me, the son of your servant.  Psalm 86:15-16

This weekend, we were reminded that the world we live in can be a sad and cruel place.  Some might look at the tragedy over the weekend and have a sense of fear or uncertainty.  Others may be filled with anger, and look to lash out against others who do not share our faith.  A select few may look at words of God, and say this is God’s judgment against those whose lifestyle is sinful.  In thinking of all of these, I asked myself, “Is this what God would want from me?”  My answer is that God would want me to look from what He has put within my heart, and respond outwardly.  As such, my focus is not on condemning or pushing for God’s righteous judgment of others.  It is instead to remind myself that we all are in need of God’s compassion and mercy, and it is me who is underserving of God’s love and mercy.  Yet, I am humbly grateful that He has been merciful on me.  Thus, I need to be an example of this; His example of this.  Not look to blame or spew hatred toward others who may have a different religion or lifestyle than mine.  Instead, it is to be slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness toward the victims and others no matter their affiliation or beliefs.

We serve a God that protects us in spite of our flaws and wrongful choices in life.  He encourages us not to be filled with hatred but to share his son’s message, which is one of salvation.  As we look at the tragedy yesterday, we should ask ourselves if the words we speak represent our beliefs or God’s.  Yes, God would want us to speak strongly against the type of violence that befell us, but He would also ask that we both act and speak lovingly with compassion and mercy as examples of Christ himself!  Furthermore, we are not to be fearful for what is to come or worry about things we have no control of.  We are to be reassured of God’s mercy on us and ask for courage and strength to serve Him faithfully in spite of all we see in front of us.

God will take care of us all.  Ours is not to worry, be fearful, lash out, or condemn.  Ours is to be merciful and compassionate filled with a seemingly limitless amount of love.  Lin-Manuel Miranda may have captured the spirit of this best at The Tony Awards ceremony last night saying,

We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger
We rise and fall and light from dying embers
Remembrances that hope and love last longer
And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love
Cannot be killed or swept aside.

What do you chose to do today?  Would God be pleased with your response?  My prayer is that we do not question.  Instead we respond as God responds to us . . . with compassion and mercy filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.  Amen.