Jackasses like you and me. 5-26-08

Have you ever been at the point in your life when you are so completely floored by God's blessings and at the same time been totally overwhelmed by your devastating unworthiness to receive them? I'm there.

When was the last time you just concentrated on the good things in your life? If you're struggling to think of any, get over yourself. For starters, you're reading this on a computer, and I might venture one that's sitting in your lap. I'd say that's a pretty good thing. Secondly, you can read. Hopefully. I wouldn't want you to just be staring at this. Education? A blessing. You know what reading this page takes? Eyesight. Check? Good, some people don't have that. This could go on and on, this chain reaction of blessing in your life and mine. Now, it's easy to be happy about these things, but should that be our only response? I submit that it should not. With great blessing comes great responsibility. Jesus said, "and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Well, we have already decided that all of us have been given an awful lot, so what would you call "much more" than an awful lot? A ton? It matters not. The thing is that we can't just sit on a pile of wealth and do nothing with it. The issue is not salvation, it's sanctification--or working toward the goal that Christ set.

Just as a reminder to all of us. The wealth that Jesus had was that He lived in Heaven, and then gave that up to be born in a feed trough used by cows. And then died willingly for jackasses like you and me. Jackass is another term for a donkey, which is a very stubborn animal. But before I become flippant, I want to get this across. He gave up more, immeasurably more, in His first breath as a human, than we could give up in all of mortal human life combined. Let that sink in just a sec. Without the value that He so graciously offers to give our lives, we have less worth and less to offer than the oxygen that the infant Jesus took into those tiny lungs of His over two thousand years ago. Our sins put Him to death. Our sins mock His name. And yet He still offers the gift. How amazing is that? That is the biggest blessing of all. Is it one of yours?