Symphony

“‘…I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’” (Matthew 25:30).

God so Loved the World (Jeanette Sthamann)

I have been reflecting on the Mercy of God.  The Mercy of God is infinite and it is DIVINE.  And that means something.  You see the divinity of that mercy means that it is a mystery to me.

And what that really means is that the only way that I can ever really trust in the Infinite Mercy of God is to consider it from a DIVINE perspective.  When I think about mercy I am limited by my human understanding of mercy.  I do not think about how to be merciful without payment.  Everything is owed to me for the tiny bit of Christian charity that I show to another…

And this is a terrible thing that Christ warned about…

“A man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability…  But he who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’” (Matthew 25:14-30).

The man with the one talent who did not invest it out of fear was the person in the story who was unable to trust in the Divine and Infinite Mercy of God.  In other words he was judging God according to his very limited HUMAN standards instead of allowing God to Judge Him by His Eternal standards…

It is like I am sitting at a piano and playing a piece with two of my fingers because I do not know how to play it properly.  And if I were to judge the composition on those two little fingers and my own paltry ability to hack away at the music then I could honestly consider the music lacking.  But instead, there is my God, and He is the Master musician.  He is standing behind me and tapping away at the keys and right there behind my shoulder, is God Himself, the Master.  And He can hear the music the way that it was composed.  And He can play the music better than I could ever imagine it being played.  And He can understand the music in a manner that will move even the least emotional member in the audience.

And if I could only trust in the Infinite Divine Mercy of God, I would be able to allow Him to reach over and add His performance to mine.  And this would be SAFE for me, and this would be BETTER for me.  But instead, I am so worried that God will only be as merciful as my tiny little soul that I literally prevent God from doing exactly what I need Him to do – which is to take control of everything in my life and from there FIX it.  According to His Divine and Infinite Mercy…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.