365 Days with God - Day 78: Not My Job

I'm giving myself a challenge. Read the Bible each day for a whole year, following the ESV Study Guide 1-year plan. Each day, I will post whatever God has revealed to me in His Word, and how it is changing me. A friend of mine once said that nothing has changed her life as much as reading the bible each day - and I'm excited for how this will change me. Join me on an adventure into the heart of God - and day by day, we can learn more about who He is and what that means to us!

- Andy Catts

Day 78, March 8, 2014

Readings: Psalm 78, Exodus 23:10-33, Nehemiah 4, Romans 14

 Why do you pass judgement on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God; for it is written,

"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. (Romans 14:10-12)

Comparisons. Judgment. I do it every day. Trying to feel better about myself by looking at others, feeling like I'm "farther along" or that I've got more figured out. But if I'm honest?

I don't.

I'm just as confused and messed up as everyone else. I have issues. I have things that I don't understand, things that frustrate me, things that plague me. Many of these are my own poor attitudes or actions. And yet, I still try to validate myself as if I'm on some cosmic scale, and only the "good" will get through. As if my actions add up to "good."

They don't.

There is no amount of good that I, or anyone, can do. We can't compare ourselves against another, because in the grand, eternal scheme of things, we will all end up at the same place. Kneeling before God. Giving an account of who we are and what we did. But the beauty of it all is that only one thing matters:

Do you know Jesus? Do you put your trust in Him? Is He your Lord? That's the only important decision. It's not a merit-based system. It's not scales. It's Jesus. That's it. We're all equal in the eyes of God, but Jesus fills the gap. He will be our witness - not of the good things we did, but of the ultimate thing he did. He set the standard so high that all we can do is bow before Him and seek His mercy. And He gives it, freely. Are we not to give mercy freely to others because of the great mercy we have been shown?