Thoughts for the Day

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Have you ever watched participants at an ice-carving competition, perhaps on tv? The competitors start with an enormous block of ice and use a chain saw to carve intricate shapes out of the ice. The finished article can be amazing. However, things can go wrong. One slip of the saw can remove a delicate arm off a statue and the whole concept has to be rethought.

Well perhaps we might think of ourselves today as works of art in the making. Lent challenges us to redesign ourselves - to look at the person we are now - and then try to improve things. In today's bible reading Jesus says that we are to be merciful; we are not to judge others; and we are to forgive those who hurt us. These three things are important qualities in a Christian. So how do we assess ourselves, and can we change anything?

Showing mercy means to offer loving help to those in trouble (using our time, our money, or our abilities). Criticism is an easy habit to fall into, can we try to turn such judgements into positive thoughts or comments? Forgiving those who have hurt us can equally be hard, can we look at it another way, asking how we might feel if someone refused to forgive us? In these ways, with God's help, we can slowly re-shape ourselves to be the Christians He would have us be.

Lord God,
You are the great Designer,
who encourages us to remodel ourselves,
to be more like the children You would have us be.
This Lent may we look again at our thinking,
at our attitudes to those around us,
and at our habitual actions.
May we be more merciful,
less judgemental,
and more forgiving to others,
acknowledging our sin in all these areas.
Amen.