Do we really deserve it?

Do we really deserve it?

In the past few weeks, maybe months, I have heard a lot of people talking about deserving things. 

For example:

You deserve a break.  

You deserve time away. 

You deserve getting that job/promotion/gift. 

I deserve to buy something for myself.

You deserve [fill in the blank]. 

I deserve [fill in the blank]. 

While I think there is no ill-intentions behind people saying those things, I do think it is the wrong word to use. Yes, I think it is good to take a break. I think the Bible calls us to rest. Yes, I think a new job or a gift are all great things and should be congratulated and we should give thanks for them.  However, I’m not sure we deserve any of it...

We are all sinful people. In Romans 8:23, it says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

When I think of what I deserve, it is nothing good. Deserve means, “to be worthy of.” I am not worthy of anything...on my own. But that is where Jesus comes in! You see, I think we see His glory best in the places that we see our weakness. I don’t deserve anything, but in Jesus, I am given the greatest gift of all. I am given the gift I could never be worthy enough to receive. I am given eternal life in Jesus!

John 3:16 may be the most known Bible verse in the world, but its truth is never ending. 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭3:16-17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Don’t just gloss over these words, take them to heart. God loved YOU so much that He sent His Son to die for you. Jesus did not sin, yet He died on the cross to pay for our sins. He died to save you and me from the one thing we did deserve. 

So as you think of what you may or may not deserve, I ask you to think of what Jesus did for you! God blesses us in many different ways and we should be thankful and even excited about those things. I don’t want to take away from those gifts, but I also want us to always look to God and the greatest gift He gave us, one we did not deserve, one we could not earn. He gave His life for us... because He loves us. 

(As I close this post, I want to share these lyrics with you that popped into my head as I was writing that last sentence. I couldn’t think of what song it was so I had to look it up. Looking back, I think this song is part of the reason I started thinking on this concept at all.) 

Here is part of the chorus from Reckless Love:

I couldn't earn it
I don't deserve it
Still You give yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

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