"The Twins: goodness and Mercy"

Pastor Paulette shared a heartfelt and deeply spiritual message. This is a warm and personal

message from Pastor Paulette.

"The Twins That Follow: Goodness and Mercy in Everyday Life"

There’s something beautiful and mysterious about how the Word of God continues to reveal new insight year after year. The Scriptures don’t change—but we do. As we grow spiritually, emotionally, and mentally, we begin to see layers of truth we never noticed before. The Word is multi-dimensional. It’s not meant to be boxed in by law but embraced as living and translucent—shining new light every time we look again.

This week, I’ve been thinking about what I call “The Twins”: Goodness and Mercy. You know the Scripture: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” But this time, I saw it differently. It wasn’t just about what God gives to me—it’s about what He releases through me, for the sake of others.

Goodness and Mercy Are Meant to Follow You

They’re not just for your comfort or peace. They are the seeds you leave behind. The acts of love and kindness that flow from your life are the legacy of God’s goodness and mercy through you. His goodness isn’t about self-gratification—it’s about releasing His character into the world around you.

And here’s the catch: you can’t do that with your own strength. Spiritual life isn't a matter of striving harder. It’s about surrender—letting God’s divine power flow through you. He’s not asking you to live by sheer willpower or emotional stamina. He’s asking you to yield.

You’re a Note in God’s Orchestra

Each of us plays a unique note in the divine symphony. If you don’t play your note, who will? God’s plan is harmonic—it works best when each person surrenders to their unique role in the Body of Christ. And no, you don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be willing.

Let’s be honest: some of us have strong opinions. We’ve built mental fortresses around what we believe to be true. But here’s the challenge: God is still asking us to change our minds. Not based on popular culture or pressure—but based on revelation of His love and mercy.

The Church’s Greatest Miss? Forgetting God’s Character

Far too often, the Church has focused on judgment instead of compassion. We’ve made it hard for people to believe in a loving God by the way we’ve treated them. And yet Romans reminds us—it’s the goodness of God that leads to repentance, not fear, not shame.

Mercy is not excusing sin. Mercy is understanding what sin really is: missing the mark. Missing your true identity in Christ. Missing who you were created to be. And people can’t correct what they can’t see—until love opens their eyes.

So don’t be so quick to point fingers. Instead, be someone who releases mercy over judgment, because you understand the cost of your own forgiveness.

Leave the Work of Perfection to God

We are not called to fix people. That’s God’s job. We are called to love them, walk with them, and trust that the Holy Spirit is doing what we cannot. Sometimes our own frustration or anger clouds our judgment. That’s when we need to pause and say, “That’s not God in me—that’s my mind taking over.”

God loved us first. He pursued us. And He’s still pursuing every human being, whether they know it or not.

You Can Love the Unlovely

Even the difficult people. Even the ones who make your job harder. Even the ones whose life choices you don’t agree with. You’re not loving from your own well—you’re drawing from the endless supply of love already poured into your heart by the Holy Spirit.

And when you love like that—when you choose mercy—you leave behind a trail of healing.

Judged, Then Loved

This is what we need to remember: at the Cross, we were judged… and then loved. Not condemned. Not rejected. Loved.

And now we live in that love. That’s the message the world needs to see in us—not flawless perfection but surrendered people who carry the fragrance of Christ in their interactions.

Because of the atoning work of Jesus, the plan has never changed. God’s desire from the beginning is still the same today: to love, to forgive, to restore, and to release goodness and mercy through us to a hurting world.

Final Thought

Let your prayer be this: Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life—and judgment stops with me.

We don’t have to understand how God will fix every injustice. We just have to believe that He will. And in the meantime, we release what we’ve received—His goodness and His mercy. Because mercy always triumphs over judgment.