Previous article:The Importance of Forgiveness

Posted on May 01, 2019 by Mike LeDuke Next article:Shame

We need a paradigm shift.

Can you remember the last time that you lost your temper because someone treated you badly? Or how about the last time that you complained?

We’re raised to expect a certain standard. We demand that people respect us. We are bent on life being fair. And yet, one of the basics of Christianity is the exact opposite of how we’re raised to think.  We don’t deserve for life to be good. We don’t deserve equity. Scripture makes what we deserve very clear: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

It’s a grim reality, but that is what we deserve.

Christ himself taught the same thing:

“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.’” Luke 13:1-5

The reality of life is that we deserve death — everyone, from those that we deem to be “good people,” to those who are wicked. We sin and so we deserve to die.

Perhaps because it’s such a basic idea, we’re often desensitized to it. Or maybe it’s because the consequence isn’t immediate — we sin, but we continue to live another day.

Intellectually, we know that we deserve death, but do we ever really think about it?

Just think about how this should impact our everyday life. It’s a total and complete paradigm shift. It’s a fact that completely readjusts our attitude –— so that rather than fighting for our rights and standing up for ourselves, we’re humble. Instead of being angry because we were mistreated, we’re thankful for the good things we have.

We deserve death.

Anything else that we get in life is more than we deserve.

And that’s where forgiveness comes in.

Because not only do we get more than we deserve, but God is a God of such great mercy, that He has created a way for us to even avoid what we deserve.

And more than that, He has created a way for us to get the complete opposite of what we deserve — because of His forgiveness.

-- Jason Hensley