Recently Elissa and I took the quiz online to see what character we are most like at Downton Abbey.  Turns out, I’m a lot like Edith and Elissa is a natural Isobel Crawley.  Do Edith and Isobel get along on the show?  I haven’t ever seen any arguments between the two of them.  Maybe this is our secret, as so many have asked how two sisters can get along so well.  And it’s true.

I’m deep into Downton Abbey: Season Three.  I don’t pretend to think I’m the only one, either!  If you’re like me, you analyze every character. I’m drawn into the story even more as these characters surprise me!  Matthew’s sweet and strong mother, Isobel Crawley, has kept my attention.

To show mercy is to offer someone a taste of the goodness of God. To them, God could be merely an idea, followed by a mass of people on the planet.  Nothing more.  Then mercy breaks in, and makes God a reality in their world.

I thought I read Isobel Crawley correctly in the first episode.  She has opinions, to say the least, and she sees things (and people) differently for sure.  But here in season 3, I’m caught off-guard!  As I’m seeing it unfold, there is no doubt in mind as to what it is:

Mercy.

She seems to be the only one who will give people a second chance.  The society surrounding Downton Abbey is not kind to the misfits and messed up.  But she can’t be satisfied until she has tried to pull someone out of their own life’s pit, and has done everything in her power to help them stand again. From finding jobs for women like Ethel Parks, or being the wounded soldier’s advocate, Isobel seems to live for giving mercy to others and cares less about what others might think.

Mercy must be our first response as Christ-followers, asking ourselves, “Is this a reflection of Jesus”?  His reaction was always mercy.

We all come empty-handed, like a child, to God.  I need grace, I need mercy and forgiveness. With open hands I can receive the mercy Jesus keeps giving me. It is “new with every morning”. A much-needed mulligan, a do-over.  Yesterday does not have to be my today.

With such a faithful God, to meet us each morning with grace and love, how can we not breathe out mercy to the people we meet? I want to be more like Isobel.

“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” – Margaret Mead

Take the quiz and let us know what character you are!  Will you be Edith or Isobel?  Comment below with your quiz results!

-Becca