"Then the people said to Samuel, 'Who is he who said, "Shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men that we may put them to death." ' But Samuel said, 'Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has accomplished salvation in Israel.' "
I Samuel 11:12-13
What is my normal attitude toward fellow-believers with whom I disagree, especially if I am proven correct? It is to get rid of them and consolidate my power base. But it is not so in the Kingdom. Paul wrote to a young preacher, "A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will" (II Timothy 2:24-26). And Jude exhorts us: "But others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire" (Jude 23). Mercy – not judgment – is God's way. (See also Matthew 9:13 and 12:7.)
Today's Thought: Mercy trumps judgment in the Kingdom.
Have a mercy filled day. Love you.
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