Undeserved

Mornings are nice at this time of the year, but the evenings are getting pleasant as well. What did we do to deserve such a thing? Of course, we didn't do a thing to deserve any of the good things in life. Do we then deserve the disasters and unpleasant heat, or maybe the drought and storms? We may deserve even worse than that. An old time sermon tells of sinners falling into the hands of an angry God. What we deserve as rebels against God is far worse than what we experience in this world.What we get to enjoy in this life is undeserved favor from a loving God. The problem comes when we try to claim some kind of credit for what God provides.

A gardener plants and tends a garden. Does she not then deserve the credit for the fruits of this garden? This year we have the answer to that. Many gardens failed to grow without the rain that God provides. Even an irrigated garden does not do as well as one watered with God's good rain. The gardener could plant and tend daily, but she could not make even one seed germinate or one plant grow without working on something God created long ago. Not one of us can grow a garden without seeds, water, sunlight, and soil; all of which God created for His own glory.

Grace is like the seed that we didn't create and do not deserve. We can help with the tending of the plant, even water it with the Word of God, but God gives the grace and causes the plant to grow. We don't deserve God's grace, but we gain it through faith in Jesus Christ. A great gift is given, share the good news!

Bucky