Good Words and Works

Earlier today I took my middle daughter, Nadia, to a local McDonalds for “a Daddy date.” She enjoyed a milk and some fries, while I leisurely sipped a coffee (not exactly gourmet arabica beans, but then again, it was kinder to my wallet than other high end places!) As I enjoyed this java infusion, I noted this inscription upon my cup: “My moment to unwind. It’s these moments I crave. My time to indulge myself…My moment to celebrate.” This credo obviously appeals to the spirit of the age. A new television program in the United States is unsubtly titled “You deserve it.” One of our local billboards boldly proclaimed: “You, you, you…it’s all about you.” All around the message trumpeted to people is their central importance to the world and how they merit special treatment. Yet in reality, the universe is designed to operate with someone else at the center of things: God the Creator is to be of paramount importance.
Rather than being worthy of good things, we actually deserve judgment (Rom. 3:19.) God gives good things to us – life, breath, health, families, friends, intellects, time, food, and much else – because He is gracious. He gives in keeping with His generous character, rather than by human merit. As one Christian friend once reminded me: “On my bad days, I remind myself that by rights I ought to be in hell.” Indeed, so should everyone! Thankfully, Christ died and rose again so that those who receive Him as Savior could pass from spiritual death to eternal life and enjoy the real center of the universe forever: God Himself.