Romans 5: 15b “…the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.”
Maybe it’s my rural Iowa upbringing, but I don’t like getting a lot of help from people. I don’t want to bother other people to help me. The funny thing is that one of my favorite things in the world to do is to help people that I care about. I love being able to provide that extra hand, or the hug that someone needs. So why don’t I let other people do the same thing for me?
A few months ago a friend was trying to convince me to allow her to help me. I listed all of the things that she had to do that day, and reminded her that she didn’t have time to drop things and help me out. She shook her head and said, “I wish you would realize that you deserve and are worthy of help.” With those words I realized what I was doing. I was resisting a free gift of someone’s love, because I wasn’t sure if I really deserved it.
We aren’t perfect people, we screw up, and we fall down. The beauty of our God is the fact that we are continually given a free gift. We are given the gift of love, the gift of grace. We are helped out, just because we are human. We are loved…we are justified just because we are.
Please pray with me.
God, this Lenten season, please remind us that we are human and that we fall, remind us that we are human and that we are loved. Help us be gentle with ourselves God. Amen.
Justin Zeigler, Director of Middle School Ministries
