I just pictured a scenario which made me consider the function of mercy in the absence of sin, and in the presence of good deeds. Jesus has the power to forgive sins on earth (specifically he said the Son of Man, perhaps speaking of more than one here, as with "The Lord of the Sabbath", etc) Matthew 9:6 "'But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.' So he said to the paralyzed man, 'Get up, take your mat and go home.'" Mercy is the willing adjustment of the result of a judgement to the benefit of the one judged. Perhaps the mechanism God spoke of in the Old Testament, that included a benefit or blessing if his people did not sin, in addition to layers of curses if they did sin, were meant to demonstrate this mercy is valid, as a function of adjustment, even in the absence of sin. Deuteronomy 28:1-2 "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your...
107:1 Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good; his love endures forever. 107:2-3 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. 107:4-9 Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty ...
I find myself in a crowd, a head taller than most, but this is nothing new. I chat with my friends and those I recognize as many others mill about, but nothing really feels real, nothing seems tangible enough to draw my attention. Then I see you. You are as obscured as you can be this night, well before I knew you and seemingly even before you've bloomed. You are small and sepia, attempting to blend in amongst dull colors, but even still I spot you at the farthest distance, first sight, and stop and stare. I recognize you straight away, despite what seems reasonable or possibly even appropriate for this scenario, and I catch your curious eyes fixed on only me from the crowd. In some senses I had seen you many times before, but in these dreams it is as if every time is the first for me, and I light up with joy invariably. For you it seems different though, and I realize this may very well be the first time you've seen me. You slip into the crowd once more, but it is clear you ar...
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