Coming Back for More - Martin Wiles

Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. John 5:3 NLT

Once through the line wasn’t enough.

We called her Aunt T. She was my maternal grandfather’s sister—and a strange one. All I remember about her is her repeated trips through food lines.

When there was dinner on the grounds at the little church my grandparents attended, Aunt T showed up. She slowly made her way down the food line, carefully piling food on her plate. She would wrap the plate and place it in her car trunk. Then she’d return for a second trip and repeat her previous actions.

My cousin and I stood at a distance, laughing at her. I wondered what made her keep coming back for more. Was she poor? Did she not have food at her house? Was she a miser? Or was she just plain crazy?

Jesus encountered a group of people who kept returning for more at the pool of Bethesda. Tradition said an angel stirred the waters. The first in would be healed of any physical malady they had. One man had been coming for thirty-eight years, but his condition prevented him from getting in first. Jesus didn’t help him into the pool; He merely healed him.

I love coming back for more of God’s mercy—which never ends. Mercy is His undeserved favor. I don’t deserve anything from Him, but He gives me grace and mercy by the bucketful. He can’t help it. Doing so is parcel to His nature.

The easy thing about receiving God’s mercy is that He’s more than willing to give it when I ask—and sometimes when I don’t. He’s not stingy. He is a giving God and wants me to be a channel of His mercy. As I come back for more from Him, I want others to come back for more from me.

Yet, I shouldn’t take God’s mercy for granted. He’s not obligated to distribute it to me. I can’t earn it; I must accept it freely. God simply wants my love and obedience in return. Regardless of how discouraged I might be, His mercy is always available to lift my spirits.

When in a relationship with God, there is always hope. Life has a habit of throwing things our way that have the potential of getting us down. But don’t let them get you down. 

Keep going back for more of God’s mercy and grace. He has an endless supply.

Tweetable: Are you going back for more of God's mercy?

Prayer: Father, thank You for allowing us to keep coming back to You for everything we need. 

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