Life's Not Fair

Here's a phrase that I've only heard about a million times....

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Life's not always fair, but God is, even when we don't deserve it.

I'm sure you grew up complaining to your parents that "Johnny" down the street got to do something and it's not fair that you don't or that "Sue" got the new toy and you want it too and they would come back with the classic line of "Well sweetie, life's not fair" and if they're extra nice they'd add in a sweet "get over it." Man, I cannot tell you how many times that conversation sent me off in a cloud of rage! Everything should be fair! Everyone should be treated equally, we all should get the same opportunities and nobody should have more of an advantage in life than another. Well, that's certainly not how life works, but thankfully, that's how God works.

In Romans 10:13 God clearly states, "for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (NIV). Now this is what I'm talking about! He doesn't say "for the smart people who call" or "for the pretty people who call," He says "for EVERYONE who calls." God wants to have a relationship with everyone, not just the popular people or the successful people or the people who "need" Him more. He gives everyone a fair chance to be saved. 

So, no, it's not fair that your boss didn't give you that promotion you deserved. It's not fair that your friends aren't treating you right. It's not fair that you work your butt off to only get mediocre grades. It's not fair that your loved ones are sick. It's not fair that the "love of your life" broke your heart. But what's really not fair is that God gave up His perfect son to die for our sins. 

We all know that one bible verse we recited over and over again when we were younger, but probably not many of us really took a look a what it was saying. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (NIV). Let's take a second to think about this. Think about if you were in this position. Think about your son, daughter, nephew, niece, that cute little kid you babysit, whoever. Now think if someone were to offer you a million dollars in exchange for them, would you do it? Absolutely not! Not even a million dollars could buy you the happiness that they have brought into your life. Now think about this question. Would you let them die in exchange for saving millions of people's lives? Who would ask such a question?!? That's so unfair, but that's what God did for us. 

So yeah, your life is unfair, but for a different reason. We constantly disobey God's commandments, yet He forgives us over and over again. We are constantly putting Him on the back burner of our lives, yet He is right there whenever we need Him. We treat Him like an extra in our life when He should be the headliner, yet He loves us the same. So if you want to talk about unfair, talk about how unfairly amazing God is to us, how unfairly generous, and unfairly loving He is. 

So let's think about how our lives would be different if God gave us what we truly deserved... YIKES! I can pretty much assure you that it would not be pretty. Nobody would be spending eternity in heaven with God, that's for sure. So take a moment and remember every day to be thankful that even though God is a fair God, He is also a merciful one.