Today is April 1st, which means it is April Fools Day. While some people are busy pranking their coworkers, spouses, and/or friends, I wanted to take a moment to talk about another fool…me. Stay with me here and read on.
How many of us read the prayer on the left and almost immediately thought, “WOW. I would never pray like that!” I, for one, am guilty. 100% guilty. And then I realize that in saying, “I would never pray like that,” I just did.
I am a pharisee (and fool) and need to be more like the humble tax collector who felt unworthy (not in a bad way but in a reverence way) of God’s mercy and grace. (For the full story of the tax collector, Google Luke 19:1-10)
I need God’s mercy and I am most certainly a product of His grace. I am a sinner. I have impure thoughts and I don’t always say the right thing.
There are times when I think I am a professional judge. I need grace.
I need to be generous with grace and conservative with judgement (a.k.a. condemnation) of myself and others.
I include myself in that statement because I don’t need help going to hell, I can put myself there no problem…and I believe that you can do the same. We are harsh and vicious with ourselves. We don’t think twice about sabotaging what we truly desire (i.e., love, our dreams, etc.) or put ourselves down. We don’t need others to crucify us because we have somehow become pros at doing it ourselves.The problem with this DIY project/skill is that it is not what God wants for us or what we need.
God wants to give us HIS best. I’m talking unconditional love, overwhelming peace (regardless of external situations), abundance, wisdom, favour (yes that includes financial resources), healing, restoration, strength, fun, new opportunities, real relationships, and so much more.
Jesus died for us and in doing so traded our worst for His best. I’ll say it again: JESUS traded our worst for His best.
Some may think He’s out of His mind and perhaps He is/was. The truth is, though He may have been ‘out of His mind,’ He was operating 1000% (this is not a type-o for those of you who think I meant 100%. I intentionally put 1000% because God is greater than you and I can fathom) fully from His heart…God’s heart.
In “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” Luke Brandon states, “Cost and worth are two very different things.”
Jesus was willing to pay whatever price to save us…because to God, YOU AND I ARE WORTH IT. There was and is no price tag big enough that He wouldn’t and couldn’t pay. The cost of His love, was the death of Jesus. “There is no greater love than a man who would lay his life down for a friend.” (Note: Jesus wasn’t out to kill anyone but was willing to take the ‘bullet’ so we wouldn’t have to.) He did this because WE ARE WORTH IT. YOU and I are worth it…sin, imperfections and all.
Big Picture. Fine Focus. 