Day 18 - Issue 33
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Psalm 44:17-18 NLT
'All this has happened though we have not forgotten you. We have not violated your covenant. Our hearts have not deserted you. We have not strayed from your path.'
Scripture makes it clear, the rain falls on both “the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). Our human framework for fairness is a million miles away from how God perceives the creation. There is only one righteous one, and that is God. I am no more than a redeemed creature who owes my life entirely to God’s mercy. I was delivered from my fractured state by grace alone and not as a consequence of my actions or worth.
Fairness describes behaviour that is “reasonable and right”. God is completely unreasonable, yet always right. How can a crucified thief in the moment of a ‘deathbed’ confession of faith gain access to paradise (Luke 23:43)? How can it be fair that those who labour in the fields for one hour receive the same pay as those who have laboured all day (Matthew 20:12)? God looks beyond the outward appearance of fairness to the state of the human soul. God invites us to live by grace, to serve God’s interests no matter the circumstances in which we find ourselves. So, we can never effectively evaluate circumstances through direct comparison. Nor apply simple human notions of justice. For God has a desire to draw each one of us deeper into friendship. He alone knows the whys and wherefores of the paths along which he invites us to tread.
My response is to keep my gaze fixed upon Jesus, the “pioneer and perfecter” of my faith (Hebrews 12:2). There are a host of reasonable arguments why God cannot be trusted when we consider the events that shape our lives on earth. If we spend our life searching for fairness according to our earthbound perceptions, we will be disappointed. Only one who maintains a steady gaze on Jesus, trusting in his wisdom can be certain of walking a direct path into the arms of the saviour’s love.
QUESTION: Where are your eyes focused as you travel through life?
PRAYER: I acknowledge that there are no guarantees beyond the promises of God.
Released on 24 Apr 2020
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