It’s usually said with a cynical smile and an eye roll: “My good deed did not go unpunished.”
And it nicely sums up the exasperation we feel when life doesn’t seem fair, when hard work isn’t rewarded, when doing the right thing brings only more trouble and heartache.
But what if the more accurate summary of our lives was actually the inverse: “My bad deeds did not get punished.”
According to the Bible, our faith in Jesus means that we’ll never get what we deserve—and we will be deliriously happy with that outcome! “But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 5:20-21).
Grace offers us believably good news: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).
Let cynics retire. Let the saved rejoice.
And stay in grace. -Bill Knott
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: The Road Much Traveled (September 18, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Re-telling Grace (September 11, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Grace Kneels (September 4, 2020)
Searching The Obvious - From Choice to Plan
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Beyond Regret (August 28, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Tenacious Grace (August 21, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: When Gratitud Is All (August 14, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Love On Trial (August 7, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Why We Forgive (July 31, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Can't Help Ourselves (July 24, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Say 'Thank You' (July 17, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Believably Good News (July 10, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Opening The Gates (July 3, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: One Good Work (June 26, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Walking Together (June 19, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Righting Our Wrongs (June 12, 2020)
Dixil Rodriguez: Forecast: Heavy Rain (June 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: First Personal Plural (June 5, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Widening The Circle (May 29, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Received—And Given (May 22, 2020)
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