Worthiness and Deserving

Deserving: there's just no such thing, because it only has meaning if different people deserve different things or circumstances. I don't believe there's any difference among people as to what they deserve; everyone deserves a wonderful physical and spiritual life, always connected with the Father.

Yes, the murderers; yes, the evildoers; yes, the Satan-worshippers; yes, those who turn from God. Those who turn from God deprive themselves of the abundant life in God which they deserve; it's their choice.
_______

Worthy of the redemption we receive through Jesus, though? I can only speak for myself, and it's something I don't think I could ever be.

But guess what?
We're redeemed anyway.
This fact thwocks me upside the head like a ton of bricks every time I dig in deep and think about it.

Jesus already died for our sins; if we believe in Jesus as our Lord and savior, we don't get a choice as to wether we're redeemed. It already happened.

If we say we won't enter God's kingdom because we're not worthy, we deny the fact that we're cleansed from our sins (as many as they may be) by the blood of Jesus. If we say we're too full of sin to be saved, we reject the fact that Jesus died for our sins and that we are saved.

If we look down at our spiritual selves and see a grimy corpse with all kinds of baked-on, caked-on sin, then we're living in the "old man/woman," the one who died -- out of whose being we were delivered -- when we were baptized and raised up from the water. We are new men and women of the new covenant through Christ. We are born again.


When I first turned to Jesus in earnest a couple of years ago, it took me lots of time, much agonizing, and tons of logical argument and counter-argument with my spiritual mentor to work out this stuff. Christianity begins with accepting a gift you aren't worthy of.

I can't help but be reminded of John 3:38 (KJV):

38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no
labour; other men laboured, and ye are entered into
their labours.

And also Luke 5:8 (KJV), when Jesus had told the first disciples where to cast their net and they caught so many fish their boat started to sink:

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees,
saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

But don't forget the next two verses (Luke 5:9-10, KJV) say:

9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at
the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of
Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus
said unto Simon, Fear not; for henceforth thou shalt
catch men.

Christianity continues from there.
That's how I see it, anyway.



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