Heart Matters

                In my life, I have done my best not to put myself in a position where I must rely on other people for anything or owe anything to anyone. In my college years, I was very poor and sometimes did not have enough money for groceries. I lived on about ten dollars worth of food per week, and this was only six years ago. At that time, my husband was only a friend of a friend that I had turned down on the few occasions he had asked me on a date. One day, we ended up at the store together and he bought all of my groceries (plus a few more things he thought that I needed). I was very upset at the time because I stubbornly refused help from anyone, but he was not interested in having me owe him anything as I had feared. His goal was to win my heart and through many more romantic acts, he succeeded.

                In Romans 4, Paul continues his discussion about justification by explaining that we are made righteous by faith, not by works. He tells us that if what we do justifies us, then Jesus’ death was owed to us. Since Jesus did not owe us His life but gave it freely, we are only made righteous by faith that He will make us righteous. Paul reminds us that we deserve punishment for our sins but Jesus offers all people forgiveness through His actions. Jesus made similar references many times (such as Matthew 5-7) in which He explained that God is more interested in our hearts being in the right place rather than our actions following His law.

                It can be uncomfortable to accept that we do nothing to earn God’s love. Do I act like I deserve the gifts that God gives us? If I accept that I do not deserve what God offers me, how much would my confidence in His love for me grow? When I do what is wrong, what can I do to change my heart and not just my actions? Do I love other people with the same type of unearned love that God shows me?

                God, help me to learn to love the way that You love. Help me to train my heart not just my hands to serve You. Please remind me that I do not deserve Your love but the love You have for me will never be taken away because it is based on Who You are rather than who I am. Amen.