In today's world, we often congratulate people by saying, "You deserve this." We're happy something good has happened in their life.
Other times, we might hear someone complaining. "I've worked so hard. I don't deserve this." It's probably true. We all work hard to try to make our lives better.
But the truth is, we're living in a fallen world. Sin is king and none of us are exempt. Romans 3:23 makes no bones about it. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (NIV)." Then Romans 6:23 cuts to the chase and tells us what we really deserve. "For the wages of sin is death..."
Whoa.
There is good news is at the end of that verse. "...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." So the choice is ours. We can get what we deserve--death. Or we can get what we don't deserve--eternal life. But to get that we have to accept Jesus as the King of our life instead of allowing sin to reign.
So next time you think you're getting a raw deal that you don't deserve. Think again. And if you're still breathing, give thanks.
Linda
I once heard it like this: Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. And grace is getting what we don't deserve (in terms of blessing, not catastrophe).
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