In a moment of panic I made a poor decision to cover-up the incident by tossing the handle into the hot fire and the hatchet head in the nearby pond. It wasn’t long after that my grandfather approached me wondering what had happened to the hatchet he let me borrow. I was caught. I mustered up the courage to confess what I had done. I felt awful for letting him down.

I told him I wanted to replace the hatchet with a new one. It was the least I could do. That’s when he shared with me that the hatchet was priceless. It had been passed down to him from his grandfather many years ago. I was willing to do anything to rectify my relationship with him but nothing could replace what I had taken. I was heartbroken.

Thankfully I have a merciful grandfather, he forgave me for what I had done and continued loving me. He simply asked that I learn a lesson in honesty and responsibility.

Offer your bodies as living sacrifices

Paul, a follower of Jesus, wrote, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1). In other words, since we recognize that God has shown us mercy through the death of his son, Jesus, let’s offer our lives to him.

There’s no way I can replace my grandfather’s hatchet. It’s even more impossible to repay my debt to God for his deep mercy in my life. All he asks for is my heart and a committed life lived for him. That’s doable!

How about you? Have you accepted God’s mercy in your life? What does God’s mercy mean to you? I’d like to hear from you. Leave a comment on our blog at www.hopeforlife.org/blog or send me an email at info@hopeforlife.org.





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© 2008 Herald of Truth

Title: "The Hatchet"
Author: Wesley Shutt
Publication Date: September 03, 2008

See the Morning by Chris Tomlin Award-winning artist Tomlin offers a whole new set of soul-inspiring easy-to-sing songs about God's faithfulness.

Wesley is the Response Coordinator for Herald of Truth Ministries. You can reach him at (866) 814-4673 or (866) 814-HOPE or by writing to wshutt@heraldoftruth.org.

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