We’ve earned nothing!

I had a great conversation with one of my best friends the other day. We were talking about how easy it is to find ourselves “wanting” because of what we see around us. One of the primary objectives of any commercial or marketing campaign is trying to make the customer “want.” In an overly commercialized world, it’s hard to say no.

That recent conversation was still stirring in my mind when I came across this quote in my reading of James Bryan Smith’s book, “The Good and Beautiful God.”

Smith writes,

Everything we have is a gift. We were made without any effort on our part. We breathe undeserved air. The sun gratuitously rises and warms our planet and, along with the unmerited rain, nourishes the land, yielding delicious fruits and grains. It is all manna, the unearned provision of a lavish and loving God. We have never been and never will be in a place where we can turn to God and say, “You own me. I deserve this.” We do not deserve anything we’ve been given. We have earned nothing. Yet God continues to give.

At the end of the conversation with my friend, we said something very similar to one another. We’ve known each other for about 15 years, so we know each other well enough to say, “you haven’t earned the life you’re now living.”

We each agreed that…

We don’t deserve to be married to such great women.

We haven’t earned the beautiful children that we’ve been given.

We don’t deserve the great jobs and great friendships we have.

We have earned nothing.

It was a good conversation. Perspective changes everything.

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Category: Resources