A Game of Uncle

A Game of “Uncle”…or better named- “Mercy”
If you are of a certain age, you’ve undoubtedly played a game of “uncle” at some point in your life.  That same game of torture is known now as “mercy.”  In case you’ve forgotten, you grab hands with another person (most commonly played with a vicious sibling) and then try pushing their hand back until they yell, “mercy!” This is a game that many of us- myself included- tried to avoid at all costs since you were never quite sure if you’d be the victor or the victim.

When we consider God’s mercy, we certainly don’t think of a game of torture; however, it is interesting that the very definition of godly mercy is “compassion when you have the power and/or right to punish.”  I guess calling ‘mercy’ in the game is calling for such compassion.

This past Sunday we explored the next “both-em” of God- mercy and justice.  God holds both of these in perfect balance.  They are not opposites; they aren’t even at odds with each other.  In reality God’s justice is really His mercy.

Since justice is best understood in a child’s mind as discipline/consequences, let’s think of it that way too for a moment.  Think of how you mead out justice in your household.  You direct and guide your children.  When they make a decision to stray from your direction with disobedience in some form, you discipline them.  Is this because you want to be mean? Is this because you’ve stopped loving them?  On both counts- of course not!  You correct because you love them. 

The same is true of God’s justice in our lives.  His correction is always because He loves us.  Sometimes that correction is gentle, and sometimes it feels more heavy-handed.  Either way, it’s always mixed with a heavy dose of His mercy. 

We live lives that cry out for God’s justice.  We can also cry out for His mercy.  When we cry out for one, we receive both.  And…if we’re smart, we won’t wait until our hands are being twisted in pain to cry out for either. 

This Week’s Announcements:Help still needed!
We are so blessed to have more than 80(!) volunteers who said YES to serving your children.
Even with that incredible number, we are still in need of help in certain rooms/areas. 
Our specific needs are:
An adult male to lead 3rd-5th grade boys as a small group leader at 9am
Nursery help at 9am and 11am 

What God is Teaching Us:
This section will have links to the previous Sunday’s lessons.  Feel free (I encourage it!) to open, read, and review with your children.  Click on the links below to view our lessons from 10/12.
This link is no longer available

Funny Things Kids Do and Say…
On any Sunday in the fall, you can find at least one child who wants to discuss a college football game from the day before.  (It’s not just the boys!)  This week one guy was talking about his beloved Clemson Tigers.  Another child, overhearing only a portion of the conversation, interjected, “I like tigers, but I like rhinos more!”  Confused…I asked, “What team is that… with a rhino as their mascot?”   Puzzled look, and then, “Oh, I thought y’all were just talking about your favorite animals.”