Refreshing

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Matthew 5:7

Something magical happens during the summertime. If it hasn’t rained in a few days, things begin to look listless. Flowers start drooping. Grass gets crunchy. Leaves on the tomatoes brown. Without enough water, the world begins to show its need for life. But then a rain shower comes—one of those steady, soaking summertime showers—-and suddenly the things that were withering are wonderfully bright again.

Mercy is like a summer rain. That’s what the apostle Paul meant when he prayed for God’s blessing on his friend, Onesiphorus. You see, the end of Paul’s life was difficult. After two years under house arrest in Rome, Paul had a short time of freedom, but was then arrested again on account of his faith. This time he was held in the Mamertine Prison in Rome. As he waited to be martyred, he wrote of how all those he once called colleagues and friends—people Paul had brought to faith in Jesus— had abandoned him because of his imprisonment. But there was an exception.

When others left Paul to wither away in prison, Onesiphorus looked for a way to refresh his spirit. He traveled 1,200 miles from Ephesus to Rome, a journey that took nearly two months. Then he found Paul in a city with over 1,000,000 people without text messages or turn-by-turn directions, a challenge in itself. Onesiphorus made the effort as a way to show Paul mercy when he needed it most. In doing so, he was like a cool breeze on a hot day, like a summer rain after a dry spell. The mercy was refreshing.

Father, fill my words and ways with mercy so that my presence is refreshing to those I meet.