Sow Mercifully

*Sow Mercifully*

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if
we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all
men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." Galatians
6:9-10

Good deeds have a way of coming back to bless us. John Wooden, the great
basketball coach who passed away in 2010 at the age of 99, was admired for
the inspirational influence he left on players and fans alike. His life
was shaped by a seven-point creed. He often passed it along to others,
explaining that his father had given him this bit of advice upon his
graduation from grammar school.

This was his creed: Be true to yourself. Make each day your masterpiece.
Help others. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible. Make
friendship a fine art. Build a shelter against a rainy day. Pray for
guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day. That sounds similar
to the apostle Peter's creed - "be ye all of one mind, having compassion
one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering
evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing
that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he
that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from
evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do
good; let him seek peace, and ensue it" (1 Pet. 3:8-11).

The Lord Jesus said that when we are kind to others and practice a merciful
attitude, we become recipients of mercy ourselves - "Blessed are the
merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matt. 5:7). Just as the sower
reaps the crop he has sown, so do merciful people reap what has been
planted in the lives of others. So don't grow weary of doing good and
showing mercy, even to the merciless. At each and every opportunity - not
just when it is convenient, when it will advance our interests,
or contribute to our fame, and no matter how much self-denial it will cost
us, how often it occurs, or how little fame we get from it - let us do good
unto all men. The opportunity to do good imposes the obligation to do it.

*Talent is God-given; be humble. Fame is man-given; be grateful. Conceit
is self-given; be careful. (John Wooden)*