Just Desserts

"according to what their deeds deserve"

Jeremiah 17:10

A friend of mine got a traffic ticket today.  I was in the car with her, and neither of us thought she deserved it.  And that can happen.  The people giving out the tickets are human, and can make mistakes.  And it's entirely possible they did in our case.   Depends on who you ask, I guess.  Deserving is in the eye of the beholder...

Now here's another way to look at the concept:  As I mentioned a few days ago, the Apple of my Eye, and I were blessed with the chance to attend a recent U2 concert.  Now, to fully appreciate this story, you should know that Hubby and I have been hit hard by this economy, as many have.  He has been out of work for over two years.  We had our $avings (for awhile) and there has been temp work, but money is tight.  An expense like concert tickets is out of the question.  But a series of events that happened to other people, led to a gift for us.  The U2 tour was sidelined last year due to Bono's need for emergency surgery, and the concert in our area was one of the ones to be rescheduled.  We have friends who had tickets to the concert, but in the year since the original date, they had moved out of state, so they gave their tickets to us.  We had a wonderful evening, and when we thanked them for the fiftieth time, they graciously replied, "You deserve it!"  Hubby and I just looked at each other.  Why did we deserve it??  No idea.  Deserving is in the eye of the beholder, I guess...

Example #2:  A few weeks ago, when I went get the mail, I noticed an envelope from an acquaintance.  I assumed it was a thank-you note for something (small) I had done for her a few months ago.  Well, it was indeed a note, but it was accompanied by a very generous check.  Now, I've only known her a matter of months, and I'm not even sure she knows Hubby's job situation, but she said she felt led by the Holy Spirit to bless us.  We were overwhelmed, and my sweet Hubby was reluctant to cash the check, because he felt undeserving of such a gift.  But I guess deserving is in the eye of the beholder...

Truth be told, all any of us really deserve, is hell.  Sorry if that's blunt, but it's true.  Romans 6:23 ~ the wages of sin is death.  But God blesses all of us, every day.  Food, health, homes, clothes, friends, the list goes on.  And we deserve none of it.  And I'll tell you what else we don't deserve ~ eternal life.  We don't deserve the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, and we certainly don't deserve forgiveness, righteousness, or eternity in heaven.

But... fortunately for all of us, deserving is in the eye of the Beholder.

~ "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, 

to reward each person according to their conduct, 

according to what their deeds deserve." ~

Jeremiah 17:10