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“God does not coerce us into kindness.”

A thought by Jon Tyson from his book, The Burden Is Light: Liberating Your Life from the Tyranny of Performance and Success (p. 145). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Isn’t that a good thought?  He doesn’t say, “You better be kind or else.”  No, He doesn’t.

Jon says, “He melts our hearts through love. He doesn’t want us to show mercy only in a particular situation; he wants mercy to become the posture of our hearts.”

Later Jon says, “I recently caught up with a friend whom I hadn’t seen in more than twenty years. I was a touch nervous to meet him. The last time we had spoken, I had the condescension of a Pharisee and a self-righteous smirk that makes me cringe upon recollection. I was aggressive and rude to people who were dealing with incredible heartache and wrestling deeply with their faith. I said a lot of horrible things in that season of my life, and I look back on that time with sadness. When my friend and I got together, we caught up on the last couple of decades, and after an enjoyable conversation, I let him know that I had to leave. That’s when he asked this final question: ‘What’s happened to you, Jon?’ he said. ‘You are nothing like I remember. You’ve become so kind.’ I was dumbfounded and unsure how to respond, but as I left that meeting and walked down the street, tears flowed down my face. What had happened? It’s simple. Jesus lifted the burden of judgment from my heart and replaced it with mercy. He freed me from the weight of having to judge the world, and he fitted me with a yoke of kindness that is graciously light. When I prayed, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” (Luke 18:13) he answered my prayer. For God’s name is mercy.”

Earlier Jon said, “Will we pick up the rocks of criticism, judgment, and condemnation and use them to heap a burden of guilt upon others, or will we drive a wedge between the accuser and the accused, a wedge called the mercy of God?”

 A very good question for us isn’t it?  So, will we?


Yes, yes!
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