Daily Devotional for February 28, 2023
What I Deserve
“It’s not fair,” said Kate as she stomped up to her teacher’s desk. “I don’t have any wrong answers on these word problems, but you still gave me a B instead of an A.”
“You didn’t show your work,” Mrs. Castillo replied patiently. “That was part of the assignment. I said you needed to show me how you got your answers or you would not receive full credit.”
“But on my last assignment I didn’t show my work either, and you didn’t lower that grade,” Kate countered.
“That’s true, but I can’t continue to be that lenient,” said Mrs. Castillo. “I warned you about that.”
Kate huffed. “But I deserve—” The school bell interrupted her.
“You’d better hurry, or you’ll be late for your next class,” said Mrs. Castillo.
That night at dinner, Kate told her dad about her talk with Mrs. Castillo. “I deserved to get an A just like on my other assignment.”
“I disagree,” said Dad gently. “You knew the penalty for failing to show your work. What you really deserved was to lose points on both assignments. You should be grateful that Mrs. Castillo went easy on you the first time.” Kate looked glum, but she had no answer to that.
During devotions, Dad read a few verses from Psalm 103. When he was finished, he said, “This reminds me of your problem with Mrs. Castillo, Kate.”
“What do you mean, Dad?” Kate asked.
“The Bible clearly says that we’re all sinners, and we deserve death and eternal separation from God,” said Dad. “But listen to verse ten again. ‘He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.’ Christians will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus—not because we deserve it, but because of God’s mercy. Just like Mrs. Castillo didn’t mark you down on your first test even though you didn’t follow the instructions and show your work, God doesn’t condemn those who trust in Jesus as their Savior. Instead, He shows us grace and forgives us for all our wrongs.” Dad closed his Bible. “Let’s pray and thank God for His gift of eternal life.”
“And for not giving us what we deserve,” added Kate.
-Philip J. Anderson
How about you?
Do you think you deserve to go to heaven? If so, you’re wrong! The Bible says that all of us are sinners who deserve death for sinning against God. But because of His mercy and grace, Jesus took the punishment for our sins when He died on the cross, and if you trust in Him, God won’t give you what you deserve. Instead, He’ll give you His gift of eternal life. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)
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