I think I have mentioned once or twice that Charlie is pretty spoiled. I mean that in the best way possible, of course!
Charlie has a toy box full of different kinds of dog toys. His food bin is filled with his favorite kibble, and his (very large) cookie jar is jam packed with a wide assortment of treats.
Charlie’s life with us is a far cry from that of a homeless stray digging in trash cans in search of food. His belly is always full, he is kept warm and safe indoors, and has a nice cozy place to sleep. Yet, because of his dogginess, he will never understand that he will have this comfortable life until the end of his days. He is always protective of what he has.
His defensive side is the most obvious when it comes to rawhide. When Charlie has a rawhide chew, he is downright nasty. He growls, barks, and will even lunge at anyone he thinks is trying to take it. Even me!
Usually, his behavior gets so bad that I have to take the rawhide from him and basically put him in timeout until he settles down.
We tend to be a bit too much like Charlie, don’t we?
We get very possessive of our things: our money, house, car, even the people in our lives. Those belong to US, and they aren’t for anyone else! I earned “fill in the blank” and it’s mine!
What we don’t realize is that God is always ready to give us more. We don’t trust that when we let go of what we have, God is always ready to bless us even more.
We are in an extraordinary jubilee year of mercy! Mercy is kindness, goodness, or forgiveness shown when it is within one’s power to punish or harm the other. Pope Francis is calling us all to recognize that our God is a god of mercy. He infinitely blesses us when we do not deserve it.
I think that before we can be merciful towards others, before we can reach out to them, we have to acknowledge our own failures and how both God and others have been merciful to us.
If you find that others have not been merciful to you, then I would like to share a thought. When I was growing up one lesson from my dad that I have carried with me is this: when someone has treated you poorly you have two choices. The first is that you can take that pain and treat others the same way so that every person can feel the hurt you have felt. Or, you can say, “No.” No one will ever feel that way again as long as I have anything to do with it.
The thing is, no matter what harm any other person has caused you, God is always seeking to love and heal you. God is always merciful.
Pope Francis also wants to remind us that Jesus is the face of the Father’s mercy. Nowhere is that more evident than on the cross. Broken, beaten, and naked, Jesus asks the Father to forgive us.
What we need to realize is that God always wants to forgive us. God is always merciful and loving. We just have to open our hearts to that mercy and forgiveness. The choice is always ours to make.
Opening our hearts to God’s mercy and forgiveness allows us to share that mercy and forgiveness with others. When we are able to accept the love of God, we are able to be loving toward others. Then, we find that there is more love than we could imagine to share! When we focus on how we are blessed, we find more blessings. When we realize what abundance we have, we are able to share that with others!
We aren’t dogs. We can learn to share and know that God will continue to provide for us. There is more than enough for all to have their fill when God is at the center. We would do well to choose mercy.
Right Charlie?
