Seek the LORD and live, or he will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire…For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins…Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is…Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy.
Amos 5:6,12,14,15
Better Than I Deserve
Better than I deserve. I recently saw that slogan on a t-shirt. It reminded me of a conversation I had not too long ago. I asked someone how he was doing, expecting the typical generic answer. His response came as a surprise: "Better than I deserve."
During the days of the prophet Amos, many Israelites were doing better than they deserved. But it came at the expense of the poor, hard-working, honest people of their country. So, God declared that they would get what they truly deserved—his just punishment for their evil.
Have our lives displayed the same kind of injustice? Have we tried gaining a better life than we deserve at the expense of others? Have we ignored those in need? Have we hated evil, or have we tolerated—perhaps even embraced it?
"I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins," God declares. What do we deserve for our offenses against him? We deserve to have God turn against us. We deserve to be swept away and devoured by the fire of his perfect justice. We do not deserve God's mercy.
Yet, in Christ, we have received God's help. In Christ, God came to be with us. God didn't wait for us to seek him. He came to seek and to save the lost. On the cross Jesus accepted our guilt. He faced the full force of God's judgment, shielding us from the fire of God's wrath.
Because of God's great love for us we are not consumed. Through faith in Christ, we have the forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death and the devil's power, and the sure hope of eternity in heaven.
So, the next time someone asks you how you are doing you can tell them truly, "Better than I deserve."
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for treating me better than I deserve. Help me to show the same kindness and goodness to others. Amen.
This devotion was selected from the Daily Devotion archive.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Devotions are brought to you by WELS and 
Print 
PDF
No comments:
Post a Comment