Daily Devotional for May 9, 2015

Ephesians 2:8-9
You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day, and all across America, mothers will receive gifts and cards…special treats…breakfasts in bed…lunches and dinners that someone else prepared…and all sorts of accolades. I can tell you that we would be hard pressed to find many mothers who didn’t earn every single bit of this!  I seriously doubt many mothers are already bragging about how they are due all of the wonderful things their children have done for them.  And few will say, “You’re treating me better than I deserve!”

On the other hand, I would say that most of our mothers have given us much better than we deserve. On Pulptastic.com*, I found a list titled “10 Things Your Mom Never Told You”.  Visit the site to read the entire list, but they include…1) You made her cry a lot (in both good and bad ways); 2) She wanted that last piece of pie; 8) It broke her heart every time you cried; and 9) She put you first.  By and large, our mothers have rescued us from more troubles than we could ever count… and as item #10 on this list states, “She would do it all again.”

As much as our mothers love us, God loves us even more.  He doesn’t love us only when we exhibit “good behavior” that is worthy of some sort of recognition, prize or treat.  While God does reward our obedience and service with blessings and other “perks”, He is more than generous with plenty that we in no way earned or deserved…particularly our salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ.

There are times when we have a right to brag…and times when most mothers deserve to pat themselves on the back and say, “I did pretty well!”  This weekend – and tomorrow in particular – will be one of those times.  But for the most part, we must all turn our eyes toward the heavens and recognize WHO truly gives us the very best blessings and care every single day…the One who created mothers – and fathers – and each of us. 

We can “brag” and celebrate our wonderful mothers – and our incomparable Heavenly Father…we can revel in all that we have been given by them – and remind ourselves of all that we owe them!  But we must humbly recognize that WE had nothing to do with these blessings of our own accord…and we must learn to say a humble, and truly heartfelt, “Thank YOU!”

Tomorrow as we celebrate Mom, let’s turn to God and thank HIM for this incredible gift – and ALL that He gives us.  We don’t deserve this love and care…but He gives it anyway…and for this we owe Him our utmost gratitude and praise.


©2015 Debbie Robus 

* http://pulptastic.com/10-things-mom-never-told/

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