The Year Everyone Was Offended … and went to hell in a handbasket

Last updated on: August 18, 2015 at 7:23 am by Denise Bossert

The Year Everyone Was Offended … and went to hell in a handbasket 2015-08-18T07:23:49-05:00 Denise Bossert

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I have seen the post.

The meme.

Whatever you want to call it.

The year everyone was offended by everything–yeah, about that.

No denying it. We have all been hurt. All of us are wounded. Some know they hurt us and seem okay with that. Some have no idea.

Precious few have asked for mercy.

But if we are honest, we must admit that we have asked for Christ’s mercy over and over.

We have accepted that mercy. We have hoped it would be there even when we are so blind we don’t see the log in our own eyes.

When the splinter in another’s eye is all we see.

Yes, we hope for mercy especially then, especially when we have hurt Christ and have no idea. And we have probably been guilty of the sin of presumption. Oh, He’ll be merciful even if I forget to say I’m sorry. Even if I’m a little stinker. Even when I mess up a bit and pretend I’m not-that-bad or not-bad-at-all. Yes, we presume so much.

Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy.

Sobering words.

The degree to which we forgive is the degree to which we will be forgiven.

Who do you need to forgive? Someone who has never asked for your forgiveness? Are there people in your life who act as though they have never done a single thing that may have hurt you? Is there someone who thinks you are the offender of offenders and not the other way around?

Well, kiddo. You want a heaping helping of mercy from God, right? Then get over the arrogant, stubborn grasp on your woundedness.

Everyone is offended, and often, it’s legit. Real offense. Not imagined. Not fabricated. Not blown out of proportion. But that doesn’t change the message Jesus has for us.

The merciful shall receive mercy.

The unmerciful … not so much.

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