… Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful … and abounding in steadfast love …

Joel 2:13

It’s easy for me to care for my friends in need. They deserve it; they’ve been kind to me. It’s harder to care for those who I don’t know, and especially for those who I find unpleasant to be with or who have been unkind to me. Why should I be kind to them?

But our God is gracious and merciful. Grace and mercy both refer to something good going to someone undeserving, like a second or third or fifteenth chance. It’s love without limit or prequalification. God’s care for us isn’t limited to what we deserve.

Only when I recognize that I do not deserve God’s love, will I see the unlimited grace and mercy He extends to me. Only then will I be able to extend it to others, even and especially the undeserving.

Karen Kogler
Palatine, IL 

Father, You are gracious and merciful, even to the undeserving. Help me follow Your example. Amen. 

Reflect: Who might God be calling me to extend kindness to today, even if they are undeserving?

Read: Psalm 145:1-9 and Jonah 3:6-4:2