Jesus desires mercy, not sacrifice. Mercy is a sacrifice, not a physical one, but one of our spirits. When we are merciful toward others, we sacrifice a piece of ourselves. Saying the words, “I forgive you” can be very difficult in regards to certain people in our lives, especially when they do something terrible to us or one of our loved ones. However, Jesus wants us to go that extra mile and let go of our hurt feelings so that we can love others how he loves them. When someone harms us or does something we don’t agree with our first instincts can be to want to hurt them back, to complain, to belittle them, and to nurse our hurt feelings, but this is not the reaction God wants from us. He wants us to act like Christ, who looked at sinners and his enemies not with hate, but with mercy and love.
Who are the people in our lives, who we have the most difficulty forgiving? How can we express our forgiveness to them and keep forgiving them? What hurt feelings do we need to let go?
O Lord, you desire mercy, not sacrifice. Help us to be merciful people.
Amen.
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