GRACE ISN'T FAIR

Ahab was the most evil king that Israel had ever known. Part of it was active choices of idolatry and persecution of godly prophets. Part of it was passive compliance with his even-more-evil wife, Jezebel. Despite his enormous capacity for evil, however, God sent Elijah to tell him of his coming judgment. Make no mistake about it, a warning is an act of grace. And Ahab took the warning very seriously. He repented. And when he did, God extended mercy to him and did not carry out the judgmental death that had been threatened.

When we read those verses this morning, I said, half in jest, "That's not fair!" I was thinking about the workers in Jesus' parable who were hired in the eleventh hour, who received a full day's pay for only one hour's work. The workers who had slaved all day definitely judged the master's grace to not be fair, just as I did about Ahab. But those men were wrong. Grace is grace. Sin is sin. I have sinned. God has extended to me grace. More than I deserve. More than I can give to others. And yet, when I see grace extended to someone I think is even more evil than myself, my instinctive reaction is to say, "That's not fair!"

Of COURSE it's not fair! Who wants fair? Fair sends me to hell. Fair allows my stupid actions to result in a thousand untimely deaths. Fair lets me wallow in my selfish lifestyle with no warnings from friends and prophets. Fair is not at all what I want.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the cross is foolishness to the Gentiles. It sure it. Jesus just let the cross happen to Him. Talk about unfair! He was the only man in the world who should NOT have died, and here He is, dying at the hands of the world for the sins of the world. Thank God that the Gospel is not fair!

"LORD, thank You, thank You, thank You that You have not dealt with me as my sins deserved. But You have dealt bountifully with me, giving me blessing upon blessing in Christ Jesus. Teach me to love as You love. Teach me to extend grace with the measure that You use on me. Teach me to be like Jesus, in whose name I ask it. Amen."
-ker