Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
@#$%
Reclaim the Bow
Discovering Original Mercy
Copyright Reserved, 2017
The Mercy Papers (2)
English
is a notoriously imprecise language. Contentions leading to disharmony causing
divisions are often provoked when people who may agree substantially, tangentially,
minimally, rarely, or not at all cannot or will not communicate semantically.
An
initiative of this movement is to provide opportunities for mature discussions
undeterred, detoured, or destroyed by semantics governed by biases that cannot
or will not listen patiently as a path to conciliation if not reconciliation.
Convinced
reconciliation is possible through Jesus as focus and filter, we defer
immediate as well as eternal judgments to Him alone as Lord and Savior; or as a
saint once said, “You love ‘em and let God judge ‘em!”
With
extreme civil, ecclesiastical, political, and socioeconomic partisanship
challenging reconciliation, this movement understands conciliation as
penultimate to reconciling opportunities through soul-Savior Jesus as Lord of
behaviors supernaturally enabling reconciled communities overcoming natural
dysfunctions and segregations by class, color, gender, religion, politics, and
other idolatries.
Simply,
mercy is a guiding principle of this movement.
Mercy
is complementary to God’s grace-filled love for us and our grace-filled love
for others as evidence of loving God.
Without
laboring Biblical languages, the complementary words grace and mercy are
intrinsically and irrevocably woven into the fabric of the distinctive agape
love ethic of Christianity as personified in Jesus and prescribed in Holy
Scripture.
Agape
love is praying and laboring for the highest good for everyone regardless
of who, what, where, when, or why without needing or expecting response,
regard, or reward.
God
expects such love from people who claim to love Him: “Love others as much as
I love you…When you are loving others, you are loving Me.”
Grace
is God’s extended and unmerited favor to/for us; providing what we don’t
deserve while not inflicting what we deserve.
Mercy
is God’s withheld judgment for insults to His holiness; colloquially, it means
He and His “cut slack…cut a break…” Contextually, it means, noting this is a
pret’ near perfect example of the challenge of semantics, God errs on the side
of gospel over law. God is our lover not
kin to Pharisees. God and Godly people
are kind not cruel.
Noting
our love for God is expressed in our love for others, mercy is when we withhold
judgments that proscribe grace-filled love.
Original
mercy is discovered when lavish love is disseminated not discriminated and
identifications become irrelevant to the inclusive intentions of Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit.
Original
mercy is extended to all without conditions or qualifications.
Mercy
is more about Whom than whom: “God said it! We believe it! That settles it!”
The
parable of the Good Samaritan is illustrative.
A
lawyer asks Jesus how he can become righteous and confident about his life
after life.
Jesus
repeats the great commandment to love God and love others to love God: “Love
God totally and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.”
Simply,
love God and be kind to one another.
Love
God by being kind to one another.
The
parable is provoked when Jesus is asked, “Who is my neighbor? Who is included in this lavish love?”
Unpacking
the principle of inclusive love through grace and mercy, Jesus tells the story
about a man who is mugged and left for dead.
While religious people who don’t walk the talk pass by the man while
pursuing their missions not from God, a “good” Samaritan – unexpected hero
because of religious profiling and mixed ethnicity – sacrifices time and
resources without discrimination to help the man recover and receives
recognition from God for proving love for God by loving like God: “He showed
mercy…Go and do likewise.”
Summarily,
love through grace and mercy is normative, regular, and even habitual not
optional or rare for people who have received Jesus into their heads, hearts,
and guts as Lord and Savior.
As
David sang about God through the behaviors of the Godly, “His mercy
endures forever!”
Bob
Andrews recorded a conversation parallel to the parable echoing the
non-negotiable, compulsory, conciliatory-leading-to-reconciling
love/grace/mercy ethic of following Jesus by the book:
1st
Man: “God forgives you.”
2nd
Man: “I don’t believe in God.”
1st
Man: “Well, then, I forgive you, as a friend.
As someone who loves
you,
I forgive you. I believe in you.”
Many
years ago as a cross was being given to me, the presenter said, “Jesus is
counting on you!”
Discovering
original mercy includes knowing Jesus is counting on us to love like Him.
Evolutionary Updates
TMP
(2) contributors are B&B.
Immediate
financial assistance is necessary to begin the movement’s initiatives. We are especially compelled to produce
merchandise that will attract inquiry.
If you are being nudged by the Holy Spirit to help fuel this movement,
please send a check to The Grove (4210 Countryside Estates, Poplar Grove,
Illinois 61065) or First Presbyterian Church (221 N. Main Street, Belvidere,
Illinois 61008) and write “Reclaim the Bow” in the memo. You will be glad you did as we join hands in
discovering original mercy.
Please
forward, duplicate, and disseminate TMPs.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
@#$%
Shatter the sound of silence!
Wake up! Look up! Stand up! Speak up! Act up for Jesus!
Salt! Shine! Leavenate!
@#$%
@#$%
No comments:
Post a Comment