Dispensing Mercy

“But for that very reason, I was shown mercy…” I Tim 1:16a (NIV)

During my fourth grade year in elementary school, I made the decision to ride on the handle bars of the bicycle my friend was pedaling to transport us home. The front tire was compressed by my weight and caused my friend to lose control. Within moments we plummeted over the curb and fell into the lane of the oncoming school bus. The bus driver slammed on the brakes and missed hitting us by a fraction of an inch.

The teacher on duty came alive in that moment and darted over to retrieve us. She quickly snatched us up and escorted us to the principal’s office. My friend and I were terrified of the impending doom. We nervously sat in Mr. Boone’s office while the teacher on duty recounted the preceding “bicycle meets a bus” event. She left and Mr. Boone closed his office door and stared deeply into our eyes. We melted in our chairs. He slowly moved behind his desk, opened his desk draw, and pull out his board of education. The sight of his paddle infused instant fear. Mr. Boone then did the unbelievable! He sat on the corner of his desk and crossed his leg to feature the bottom of his left dress shoe. He raised his paddle as we leaned back into our chairs, and he proceeded to commence with two devastating blows with his paddle onto the flat surface of the bottom of his shoe. Then he said, “Boys, these were meant for you. Now get out of here and go home!”

On that day, God revealed His mercy to me in a personal way. Remember, Jesus took the punishment for our sin. Have you received the mercy Jesus dispenses? It will change your forever!

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell