Every so often someone asks a question that flips the world upside down. Nearly, 19 years ago, the Baha men accomplished that feat with this simple question: Who let the dogs out? Who? Who? Who? The question probably isn’t significant nor is the song really that good, but it is catchy. Songs are like that.
We can go years without hearing a song, but in a moment those words come rushing back to our mind and hold on tight, not wanting to leave. It could be a pop song, a Youtube sensation, a TV theme song, or even a commercial jingle. Some music we just can’t get out of our mind.
The same could be said of offenses. When people insult or hurt us, it stings and we remember. We hold on. We don’t forget. And, then there’s Jesus.
Jesus didn’t hold on to our offenses. He took them to the cross, paid the penalty, and offers us forgiveness, over and over.
I could stand to be more like Jesus. I could stand to extend mercy.
But, mercy isn’t simply about forgiving those who have caused you suffering. Mercy is seeing and serving those who are suffering around you.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry we see Him reaching out to the rejected, the sick, the outcast, the broken.
While certain thoughts and words hang around in our head, we are able to dismiss others fairly quickly. That’s often how we view the suffering of others. Out of sight, out of mind.
God calls us to more. We must learn to forgive those who have caused us to suffer. And we must learn to serve the suffering.
I love what Mother Theresa had to say:
I never look at the masses as my responsibility; I look at the individual. I can only love one person at a time – just one, one, one. So you begin. I began – I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn’t pick up that one person, I wouldn’t have picked up forty-two thousand….The same thing goes for you, the same thing in your family, the same thing in your church, your community. Just begin – one, one, one.
My Prayer: Father God, may your story of mercy be continually playing in my mind. Help me to see the needs around me and faithfully step in to serve those suffering.
You made a great connection between songs that stick in our memories and unforgiveness. The reminder to love one person at a time is powerful.
Such an appropriate post when there are so many needs in our homeland–hurricanes and raging fires destroying homes and business; families struggling to regroup; political turmoil and more and more tragedies. But, we have the Master comforter and He is only a prayer away. Thank you for the reminder that we have the choice–will I live to bless others? Will I be merciful?
Yes – songs totally get stuck in our heads, but aren’t we thankful that our sins are perpetually stuck in the mind of Christ. What a good God He is to remove our sins as far as the east is from the west.
It is so easy to hold onto offenses! Great points!
You’re so right about songs … and offenses. We may forget them or put them out of our minds temporarily, but when something reminds us of either, they return just as fresh as if we heard the tune or suffered the consequence in recent moments!
Thanks for the reminder that Jesus doesn’t hold on to our offenses – ever!