But, do they deserve it?





Here's the thing...we at times judge others on their 'deserved-ness' ....do they really 'deserve' help....what have they done to 'deserve' aid and assistance...they don't 'deserve' it, they've done nothing to earn it. But, if God judged any of us on whether we deserved His grace, His mercy and His redemption, Heaven would be empty and Hell would be overflowing. Think about it. God doesn't stretch out his merciful hand to us to redeem us because we've done anything to deserve it. Quite the contrary. We are undeserving. Yet He redeems us anyway.

If we are supposed to treat others as God does, ..... (think about that).... we are not to determine whether someone is worthy, we are just supposed to offer help, grace, a meal, forgiveness. It is God's to judge. It is God's to avenge. It is ours to obey, follow, and show love. Scripture says they will know we are believers by our love (John 13:35).

As Americans, I think we really tend to do this...we withhold help or provision because we don't think that person deserves it or has earned it. We judge the situation, the person, and try to determine whether they deserve help or deserve their circumstances. Be honest....have you ever done this? I know I have.

Here's a radical challenge....this week, try and flip your thinking. When you hesitate to show compassion, to give help, to recognize a heartbreaking situation as just that...., ask yourself, what do I deserve and what has God given me? Then look on those in their struggle and act like you ought to. Act. Take action. Show compassion.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Your comments are welcome! Please be sure they're appropriate and will benefit others.

Popular posts from this blog

Soul Rest

Image
“Soul Rest”  Do those words stir a longing in your heart?   Whisper that to yourself, out loud.…‘soul rest’……….’soul’……...’rest’.   Does it make you thirst for something peaceful and calm, something that satisfies that restlessness in your inmost being?   Psalm 62:1-2 “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.   He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” What does the word ‘rest’ really mean?   I’m going to venture a guess at what you’re thinking…1. Stopping Work 2. Relaxing   3. Sleep   4. Relief But what does the Bible say this ‘soul rest’ really is?   Strong’s Concordance explains this Hebrew word for rest “damam”, as “to wait in silence” or “to repose” and a “silent expectation of help from God.” When I was a kid, my Dad would suddenly say to us all “Shhh!!!   Do you hear that?”   And we would all quickly freeze, fall into silence, listening...
Read more

A purposeful pause

Image
Be honest.   There are times you’ve wanted to shout ‘God!   Why don’t you DO something here!’ those times when you are waiting....waiting for something, anything.   And it seems God isn’t moving. You’re in a pause….the space between… something ended and the next thing has yet to begin.   And you wait.   Often, the waiting is hard.   It can seem you’re waiting without direction and with no visible end in sight.   It can be desperate.   You NEED an answer or resolution.   And yet, you wait. God isn’t cruel.   He doesn’t make us wait simply to spite us, or to gleefully delight in our frustration.   We see only what is right in front of us.   But He sees the entire story, from start to finish, with all of its moving parts.   Every season of waiting is a purposeful pause.   There may be something we need to learn in the process, or it may not be about us at all.   Sometimes God uses our story to encour...
Read more

The challenge of parking straight...and making good choices.

Image
We pulled into a parking spot and my husband immediately said “You’re crooked, you need to straighten out the car.”  (Now, if any of you know me, you know I'm a Philly girl and there are two things I do well. The first is parking a car, and the other is the Philly attitude.) I gave him a look (there it is…) and said, “Ummm, I think not.” As I got out of the car, I looked at the lines for the parking space in relation to the car. It was nearly perfectly aligned on all sides...it was truly a thing of beauty (if I do say so myself.) Two of our kids were with us and as I humbly (cough) stated that my parking job was flawless, they both agreed. My husband got out of the car and, after checking it out, had to agree as well. He admitted the car was straight and I parked it exceptionally well (adverb may be the addition of the author). So, why did he initially think the car was crooked? Well, he was looking at the other car facing us, which was parked a bit oddly, but he couldn’...
Read more