Reflections Along the Jesus Way
February 14, 2023 – Quote for the Day:
“We are blessed to be able to extend mercy to others because God has first of all extended it to us, and in Christ, extends his mercy in and through us. 1 John 4:19 explains: We love because he first loved us. That’s a Christ-centered principle – we extend and show mercy because he first extended and gave his mercy to us.
An old story from the Wild West speaks of a rancher who had a huge ranch, often the target to thieves and rustlers who would steal the cattle. One day the rancher’s hired hands caught a cattle thief. They caught the thief red-handed and took him to the ranch house.
Those were the days when penalties were enforced by those who had the power to do so, whether they were deputized or appointed to or not. When his hired hands hauled the thief before the boss and asked him what he wanted to do with him, he said, ‘String him up. Hang him. That will teach him a lesson.’
They hung that cattle thief, but the rancher was not as rough and tough as he seemed. The rest of the day the rancher couldn’t get the fact that he had taken the life of another person off his mind.
That night the rancher had a dream. In his dream he died and was standing at the Pearly Gates of Heaven. St. Peter welcomed him and took him to see God the Father, and asked the Father, ‘What do you want me to do with him?’
The Father said, ‘Forgive him. That will teach him a lesson.’”
Originally published in:
Beautiful Sayings – Beatitudes of Grace
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