HIS MERCY

I was totally engrossed in watching the newly released live action film of Avatar the Last Airbender yesterday and let me tell you, it blew my mind! As I watched, the movie gave me some thought-provoking insights that I couldn’t help but share. The story began with the fire nation led by their ruthless fire lord invading the air nomads and wiping them out completely, leaving behind no survivors.

An entire kingdom, gone in just one attack! And all because the fire lord felt threatened by a child who he believed could ruin his plans.

But that’s not all, as the movie continued, I saw how the fire lords from the same lineage continued to wreak havoc and taunt other nations for years. It was only towards the end of the actual anime that the Avatar, Aang, finally defeated the present fire lord Ozai and put an end to the cycle of destruction.

As I watched, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to stories from the Bible. In the book of Exodus, the story of Moses tells us about the unfortunate fate of the pharaoh. Although he may not have been responsible for the terrible act of killing infant babies to get rid of Moses, his continued adherence to that path resulted in his ultimate downfall. The other is from the book of Matthew where they tells us about Jesus Christ being targeted, but miraculously surviving.

Both were targeted for destruction, yet both survived.

It made me realize that people often pay for the sins of their ancestors if they continue on that same path. But there’s hope if they turn away from their forefather’s sins, they can be shown mercy from God.

Today, I went to church and was amazed to hear that the exact same message was preached. The Reverend Father spoke about “Departing from the iniquity of the past” The reading was from Exodus 20:1-17, emphasis on Exodus 20:5 “do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the Lord your God and I tolerate no rivals, I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generations”, that was a bit scary right? But the second verse gives me joy Exodus 20:6 “but I will show my love and mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my laws”

It made me think about how we shouldn’t be blamed for our forefathers’ actions, but we can be blamed if we know what’s right and still choose to do wrong. God is merciful, and even when he’s angry, he still shows mercy. It’s amazing to think that if we turn away from the evil committed by the people before us, he will show us mercy.