Friday - Mercy and Forgiveness

On Fridays, three ideas come together in my spiritual practice: The fifth statement in the Lord's Prayer; The fifth Beatitude; The fifth day of creation:

- God forgive me as I forgive others
- I want to be merciful and receive mercy 
- God creates the fish and birds and gives his first blessing to them - the first relationship described in creation.

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My relationships are good, and God will build them up.

On the second day, the focus is on how my relationships are not right. Today, the fifth day, the focus is on how they are right, and how I can make them even better. In creation, yesterday God set up his first relationships, today He sets up His first friendships.

Forgiveness and mercy are critical to keeping my relationships in tact. I need to be close to God and feel like I can approach Him. If there is no forgiveness from Him, what am I left with? Nothing but distance, guilt and loss. He knows that and reaches out to me - and requires that I do the same to others.

I think forgiveness & mercy are not just about letting things go. These concepts are about building friendship and connection - in other words, blessing others. It's not passive, but involves actively seeking how to solidify my relationships.

Specifically, today I pray for my church and other organizations that are reaching out to others to extend God's love - both by doing good and sharing His message.