12 On the following day, when they came
from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
I often think of how I can bear fruit. How do I become what God wants, how do I become what God wants. How do I bear the fruit God wants?
I think of what Mercy Is, the Gift of Christ, the Lamb of God,
Mercy is the Cleansing of Selfish Pride
Mercy is Provision for the Wounded Soul,
Mercy is Exorcism of All Darkness and Lies
Mercy is Sabbath Rest from Suffering and Trouble.
And I think of what Mercy does.
Mercy rescues, leads, and gives us back to God, ourselves, and each other.
WHAT MERCY IS,
WHAT MERCY DOES,
What Mercy Is
What Mercy Does,
Doesn’t Christ know he is the only way Israel will bear fruit again? That He must die and rise so Israel can be given back to God and to the world?
Maybe that is where the anguish is here.
Mercy rescues, leads, and gives us back to God, ourselves, and each other.
But is that too easy? How do we become “given back,” how do we bear fruit?
I think of how everything depends on Revelation. The Announcement of Christ and Him Crucified is the ongoing Revelation to the wounded soul and the hardened heart.
But, somehow, the Revelation of Christ becomes the Gift of Ourselves.
Somehow, this Announcement of Christ becomes the Offering of Ourselves?
But how?
I think of Everyday Rhythms of Scripture and Prayer and what they’ve meant to me. The Everyday Rhythms of Scripture and Prayer have been my friendship with His Gospel, His Spirit.
This Rhythm has been the crucial transition from the Revelation of Christ to the Gift of Myself. It has been the vindication of the Announcement of Christ and preparation for the Offer of Myself.
This Everyday Rhythm has taught me that the Gift of Ourselves to the World as it is only happens by the proclamation of the Gospel, through the guidance of His Spirit, and for the building of His Fellowship.
By that Rhythm I have claimed my Inheritance, the Fear of the Lord
The rescue of my trust,
The leading of my attention,
The gift of myself.
Trust rescued by the Crucified Christ,
Attention led by the Crucified and Risen Christ,
My own self given to God and others by the Crucified, Risen, and Returning Christ.
Yes, Mercy means we can be rescued, led, and given.
And the goal of the Christian life is to be more rescued, more led, and more given.
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