Showing Mercy

This morning I was listening to a sermon from the church I attended when I lived in Colorado Springs, and the topic of the sermon was “Dealing with Doubt”.  One of the passages Pastor Matt Heard referenced was Jude verse 22: “And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering” (NLT). 

In every stage of life, in every realm of belief, in every person’s life, doubt pervades.  So why then, church, do we stiff-hand believers when they express doubt about certain aspects of their faith?  I think this is one of the reasons I struggle with churches.  In a world full of doubt and uncertainty, Jesus offers mercy and answers.  Why don’t more churches follow His lead?  Judgment abounds in many churches which causes the members to internalize their doubts instead of openly sharing their thoughts and seeking real answers.  Now this isn’t to say that every church is like this—just like in the rest of life, speaking in generalities does not hit every one of its aspects.  I believe we as Christians, the church, need to be set apart from the world in our thoughts and actions, but why does this separation so often reveal itself in the form of judgment?  When doubts are expressed, many “Believers” respond with:  “How can you doubt God?  How can you say prayer is useless? How can you say a “loving God” wouldn’t allow such pain?  You just need to trust God more.”  Sometimes we just need someone to come along side and encourage us when we are struggling, not tell us there is something wrong with us.  We need to be open and honest with others, sharing our struggles, not stuffing them down for fear of judgment.  My doubts do not make me any less of a follower of Christ; in fact it is through my doubts that I gain a deeper understanding of Who Christ is.  This does not mean we do not hold each other accountable for our sins.  Jude goes on to say in verse 23, “Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment.  Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.”  In showing mercy to doubters, we must ultimately help guide them back to God’s truth.

In other news, it has been raining in Queretaro for the past three weeks—COMPLETELY bizarre for this time of year I’m told.  I have been enjoying this “blessing” immensely as it reminds me of the weather back home in Washington.  All this moisture has caused the main door into my apartment to swell, making me feel like a SWAT team leader ramming my shoulder into the door to gain entry.  This rainy, cold weather has also lead to an increase in colds and flus, making my class sizes smaller and my work-load of getting students caught up larger.  I have caught my second cold since returning to Mexico in January, I managed to throw my neck out on Thursday (but thanks to the power of prayer, it is much better), and now I am having spasms in my lower back.  Yet in the midst of these minor difficulties, God is good.  I am almost entirely caught up on my grading, I’ve been able to read a lot this weekend and ponder some interesting areas of my life, and I got to chat with one of my sisters via Skype yesterday.  Dios es bueno todo el tiempo (God is good all of the time)—sometimes we just have to look a little harder to see this truth!