“No fair!” We hear that a
lot when kids are playing
and the game
seems to be going better
for one than others. The
loser feels left out
and cries, “That’s not
fair!” It can be pulled on
parents by kids trying
to manipulate them to get
their way. If they can
paste some guilt
on the parent, they can
get what they want.
Adults can feel unfairness
too. Someone with less
seniority gets the
promotion. A spouse breaks
out of the home and turns
his/her back on his/her
responsibility in keeping
the wedding vows causing
hardships on those left
behind. Friend and
confidante spreads gossip
instead of
keeping shared secrets locked in their hearts and behind sealed lips.
Cain didn’t think it was
fair when God accepted
Abel’s sacrifice and
rejected his. He took
matters in his own hands
and tried to square it up
by killing his brother. That’s when serious trouble begins—when we
try to even the score.
Reality is that the score
will never be even. In
this life there will
always be the haves and
have-nots, and there will
be those like Cain who try to even the score by whatever means
they can contrive.
Let’s talk about what’s
not fair. Was it fair when
God created a beautiful
paradise for His creation
and they listened to Satan
instead of God and
lost their Eden? Was it fair that God led the Hebrews out of Egyptian
bondage, took care of
their every need and then
have to see them
bowing down to an
Egyptian god-calf giving
it praise for
their deliverance?
Was it fair when Jeremiah
was dropped into a miry
dungeon by ropes because
he delivered the Word of
the Lord in warning King
Zedekiah
of the impending doom of
the kingdom?
Was it fair that Jesus
bore our sins upon His
innocence? Was it fair
when He was beaten and
ridiculed before they
killed Him? “No fair!” –
indeed! Yet He didn’t even
open His mouth when He was
falsely
accused and abused. He did
open His mouth to pray for
His
murderers. Was that fair?
Was it fair when all of
His friends cowered out of
sight while He was
being tried, beaten and crucified—for them? NO! Nor was it fair when
they didn’t believe Him
when He told them He would
come out of the
grave in three days. But,
you know, He didn’t accuse
them; He just
proved His resurrection so they would have no more doubts about it.
He just shored up their
faith so they could tell
the world that it was
true.
Is it fair that He
continues to offer grace
and mercy to unbelieving,
rebellious people today?
Who deserves that? Would
you raise your
hand? No one? Right. We
are all sinners and
undeserving of His
Love. Wouldn’t you say
that just makes God’s Love
greater than
we can comprehend?
It’s not fair that we
should be so blessed here
on earth. It’s not fair
that God can just forget
our sins and call us His
beloved children and
joint-heirs with Christ of all He has. It’s just not fair that these
earthly bodies of clay
could contain God’s
precious treasure and
treat it
so lightly.
When we feel life’s not
fair and treating us
badly, we should consider
this: What did we do to deserve a Savior like Jesus? What have we
done that makes us deserving of Heaven and eternal joy and bliss in the
presence of Jesus who died
for us and God Who loved
us so much?
We are right if we think
it’s not fair, because it
is not. But that’s where
Grace becomes effective
and where Mercy is
demonstrated toward us.
GRACE: Receiving what we
don’t deserve--Salvation
and all
its everlasting benefits.
MERCY: Not receiving what
we do deserve—Banishment
from
God for our sins and
rebellion against God’s
Grace.
It’s not a secret. Let the
world know—“God’s not
fair!” He doesn’t
give us what we deserve. Instead, He is full of Grace and Mercy and
gives us what Jesus deserves. Remember, we are joint heirs with Christ.
Delores Adams
July 5, 2003
Copyrighted. All rights
reserved.
Alice's Legacy
Remembering Alice
Bible Studies
~The
Ten Commandments~
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