I spotted an old ledger designed to record a company’s payroll expenses while shopping in a secondhand store. A chart inside the front cover listed pay calculations based on different hourly wages. These calculations were also split into 15-minute increments. If a person earned $2.35 per hour, and he worked for 15 minutes, the chart showed that he would receive exactly 59 cents. If his workday lasted 8 hours, he would receive $18.80. Using this chart, a business owner could determine and record exactly what each employee had earned—not a penny less, not a penny more.
What if we all got exactly what we deserved based on God’s standards? The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and all of us are sinners. “No one is righteous—not even one [person]” (Romans 3:10). From God’s perspective, every time we sin, we “earn” death.
Thankfully, as God’s children, we don’t get what we deserve. Instead of death, He gives us life—now and forever. Jesus’ sacrifice makes this possible. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying” (John 11:25). Jesus is the expression of God’s grace to every believer.
When we truly value God’s grace in our lives, two things usually happen. First, we become thankful. We realize all that we’ve been saved from (Isaiah 63:7). Second, our relationships change. We stop giving people what they deserve when they hurt us. We see why it’s wrong to repay evil for evil. We forgive other people because God has forgiven us through Christ (Colossians 3:13).
Peace with God and others adds up to the “rich and satisfying life” Jesus said He would provide for those who love and follow Him (John 10:10). What a gracious God!
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Acts 15:22-41
More:
Read Romans 5:17 and see the relationship between our sin and God’s grace. Read Proverbs 20:22 to see how God wants us to respond to people who mistreat us.
Next:
How has God’s grace changed your heart? How has it changed the way you treat other people?
godlove on October 31, 2016 at 7:02 am
Today’s devotional made me think of Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35) who received complete pardon of his debts from the master, yet went and threw his own debtor in jail. This is one very important implication of God’s grace: applying the same grace we have received from God to others as well. The merit-based criteria is probably most widely accepted as a fair scale of treating one another. As a result we are easily tempted to treat other people as they “deserve”, forgetting that thanks to God’s infinite grace and mercy, we ourselves benefit of unfair treatment from Him. Thanks to the sacrifice of His Son, God chooses not to punish us as our sins would deserve, and thanks to His love and care for us, He blesses us much much more than we truly deserve. Salvation in Christ is gifted to us in total disregard of our initial state of slavery to sin. As I once read, our forgiven sins are much greater than any offense we could suffer at the hands of others. Therefore, as we thank God for His forgiving grace through Jesus Christ, may we remember to be patient and tolerant with one another’s weaknesses just as our Heavenly Father is patient and tolerant with ours. Thank you for this very important reminder, Jennifer. Blessed week to everyone, with love.
gagirllive on October 31, 2016 at 11:35 am
My kindred spirit friend, I don’t usually read anyone else’s comments until after I have posted my own. This morning I posted quickly and had to run out early for an appointment. Imagine the smile on my face when I returned and signed on again and was about to see that we (once again) were thinking on the same wavelength . (Of course, we have the same Teacher, so no surprise.) 🙂 Be blessed, bro.
gagirllive on October 31, 2016 at 11:37 am
Correction—…”and was happy to see”, not “about”. 🙂
godlove on November 1, 2016 at 3:45 am
Haha… Indeed, gagirl, no surprise that we both think alike 😉 I already consider it quite normal when, led by the same Teacher, we have the same train of thought. Blessings to you, dear sis 🙂
sandy229 on October 31, 2016 at 11:51 am
Amen godlove! We have to be patient and tolerant with other’s and forgive them, just as Christ has forgiven us!! Good word godlove!
jennifer benson schuldt on October 31, 2016 at 10:32 pm
Hello all!
After a busy day, I am finally sitting down to comment. 🙂
This weekend, my pastor spent some time talking about “perspective” during the Sunday morning sermon. Something you said, Godlove, reminded me of how important it is to have the right perspective on our sin and other people’s sin. I really like this: “our forgiven sins are much greater than any offense we could suffer at the hands of others.” Thank you for that comparison.
Gary Shultz on October 31, 2016 at 7:16 am
Jennifer, I am glad in the chief bookkeeping position is one who is guided by God. It’s hard to envision if angels or the Lord Himself keeps the books, but the result will be as you say, “More than we deserve”. I’m glad in a world that is increasingly less gracious, God’s recording process is not as ruthless. I have to be reminded of “the book of life” where the names of the redeemed are recorded, I think I really like that book. However, as you point out the end purpose for us is not just to make sure the books are looking good in our favor, but we are to work with God’s Spirit to reflect grace to others. Boaz comes to mind with a generous hand, Joseph, and others that are recorded in another book for their graciousness; reflecting a God touched life, and being willing to do something with it. Thanks Jennifer
gagirllive on October 31, 2016 at 11:49 am
So true, Gary. The concept of grace is so foreign in this world. We really must be careful to demonstrate it to others in the way we treat them and the words we speak to them. We also should warn them that this “age of grace” is swiftly coming to an end. The Day of the Lord is coming upon this world, and God will indeed be ruthless in His wrathful judgement against all who have rejected His gracious Gift. In sharing the Good News, we must not leave out the bad news. Thanks for your great insights, BWO 🙂
gagirllive on October 31, 2016 at 7:51 am
This is great, Jennifer. God’s grace has surely changed my heart and my life. How can it not? Everyday I thank Him for His grace and mercy, for His unfailing love and faithfulness. I love what Psalm 103: 10 says, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.” Hallelujah! In this world of self-entitlement, little do people realize that without the gift of God’s grace, the day is coming when everyone will indeed get what they deserve. That is one payday for which I am so grateful to be exempt! And you are so right about grace changing our relationships. Show me an unforgiving and unmerciful Christian, and I’ll show you a person who has not fully understood or embraced the grace of God in his or her life. That’s what Jesus was teaching us in Matthew 18 in the parable of the unmerciful servant. That’s why we are admonished to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” There should be an ever-increasing knowledge and appreciation for God’s gift of grace toward us. I can recall a time in my life when, as a committed Christ follower, I struggled so much with forgiving someone who had hurt me deeply. In my mind, I magnified their offenses toward me while minimizing my offenses toward a holy God. Thankfully, the Lord patiently worked with me. I spent considerable time in Matthew 18 until I was broken over the extravagant grace that God had poured out on me. How dare I withhold from another the same gift that I had so mercifully been given? Healing came to me when I gave grace to the one who hurt me. How wonderful that through Christ we don’t get our “just reward”! We get far more than we deserve—we get GRACE! Thanks for this encouragement, Jennifer. A blessed Monday to you and everyone who visits the forum today.
sandy229 on October 31, 2016 at 11:58 am
The same thing happened to me, for a long time I was unable to forgive someone for what they had done to me, but God showed me that He graciously forgave my sins and I should extend forgiveness to those around me, cuz no matter what they have done to me, it does not compare with all the sin in my life against God. I was reading in another devotion today that on this day, “trick or treat”. God does not give us any tricks, only the treat of His salvation! (Ephesians 2:8,9) Amen & Hallelujah! Glory be to God!!
gagirllive on October 31, 2016 at 12:08 pm
Amen, sister! No tricks; just treats with God. 🙂
jennifer benson schuldt on October 31, 2016 at 10:38 pm
May all of us have a fresh awareness of God’s grace so that we can extend it to the people in our lives. “May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace” (1 Corinthians 1:3).
sim jing ying on October 31, 2016 at 9:09 am
God changed my heart into a joyful and loving one. I treat others now in love and sincerity.
gagirllive on October 31, 2016 at 11:53 am
Praise God, sim jing ying, for your testimony. I am still quite challenge to walk in love and grace, but I’m so thankful for a changed heart that wants to !
sandy229 on October 31, 2016 at 12:05 pm
Thank you Jennifer for your words today! In Jesus, we are set free from slavery to sin. Through Christ’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, we have been set free from slavery to sin and made alive and victorious in the Spirit. Our old sinful life was crucified and buried with Jesus. Therefore, we now have His power at work in us to resist wrong behavior. By grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are free to live our lives in holiness, give our lives daily as worship to God, and be transformed in our thinking! Amen & Amen! Thank you Jesus!!
jennifer benson schuldt on October 31, 2016 at 10:39 pm
Amen! Thank God for giving us more than we deserve!!
emmanuelle71 on November 25, 2016 at 10:42 pm
We’re all perfect, it’s what we do that makes us not perfect. From the day you’re born till the day you die, you’re judged. God’s a way of walking, not a way of talking. I am holy, you be holy, end of story. You get what you deserve…we all get to watch the show!