It's not fair...it's grace!

Today I read an article about a recent study published in the March 2010 issue of the journal Science. The lead author of the study, Joe Henrich, is an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of British Columbia. He suggests that fairness is not an innate human attribute, rather a learned behavior. Shocker! Ask any parent of a toddler and I guarantee (since I am one) that they will all agree they never had to teach their child to be selfish. The last thing on the mind of a 3 year-old is whether or not they are being fair as they rip a toy from their siblings grasp. Deep down inside we all naturally desire what is best for old #1 (our self).

Whether the researchers who conducted this study realize it or not, they actually bolstered the claims of the Bible. David proclaimed in Psalm 51 that he "was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." In fact, travel all the way back to Genesis chapter 6 and the description of the people in the days of Noah was that "every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time." (Gen. 6:5) The text tells us that God was not only grieved that He created mankind, but "he was highly offended." Why? Because God can have nothing to do with sin.

Romans chapter 3 tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We have all sinned and "highly offend" God. We are all outlaws who deserve punishment for breaking God's law. In all "fairness" God has every right to punish each of us for daily turning our backs on Him. Thankfully, God chose to love us by sending His Son to pay a debt that we could never pay in order to free us from our much deserved punishment. (John 3:16) That is grace! What do we have to do to have our debt paid? The Bible tells us it is just a matter of believing...

... that the events we celebrate each year on Good Friday and Easter actually happened
... that God sent His one and only Son to die for YOU and rise again three days later
... that you are now justified (made right with God) "freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:24)

I am so thankful that God was not "fair" with us, but instead chose to show His eternal glory by extending His grace. Have you trusted in God's amazing grace to bring you new life in Christ?

Creation

Earlier this week the warm weather enticed me to leave my office for a quick stroll around the pond next to our church building. It was marvelous to walk outside without a coat weighing me down, allowing my skin to soak up the warm life-giving sunshine. I marveled at all the things the snow had hidden from sight over the past several weeks. Grass, trees, shrubs, even the fish that had been held captive under thick layers of ice were now bursting forth in anticipation of the changing seasons.

My quick trip outside in the spring-like air reminded me of the psalmist’s words in Psalm 102:25, “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.” He proclaims that all we see in this amazing world is the work of God’s hands. From the top of the mountains to the depth of the sea, all that we marvel at and enjoy in creation is the “work of his hands.”

The great King David would later proclaim in Psalm 139 that it was with the same wisdom and power that God created each human and “knit us together in our mother’s womb.” The prophet Isaiah proclaimed that “we are the clay” and God is the potter, which means we are the work of His hands!

The next time you feel the urge to take a stroll outside and marvel at the amazing creation, look no further than your own life. God created you, knit you together in your mother’s womb, and loves you enough to send His one and only Son to pay the penalty for your sin (John 3:16).