Getting what we need, not what we deserve

Recently God used a rough day to remind me how his grace works. Two of us were helping a disabled man who used to be homeless move into his new place. When he started barking orders and insulting our “voluntary” moving efforts, the other volunteer took offense. When he spoke up about it, the resulting altercation led the hurt volunteer to quickly speed off, leaving me to finish the move myself. I was then “ordered” to go get another mover to help, but I didn’t want to subject anyone else to his belligerence. It was very hard to not leave him myself a number of times. Nobody deserves to be treated the way he treats people, and nobody who acts that way “deserves” free help from those they abuse. Then it hit me – that’s exactly how God’s grace works. God doesn’t give Christians what they deserve; he gives them what they need. That man didn’t deserve our help any more than we deserve Christ’s help. In fact, we deserved to be abandoned. Instead Christ was abandoned on the cross, saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He was abandoned so we wouldn’t be. He gave us what we needed, not what we deserved. And that’s what enables us to give others the same. Please pray that God gives us his heart of grace for those we serve.