SCRIPTURE:
Romans 1:21 “ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
SPIRIT NUGGET:
If you’ve ever felt unappreciated or undervalued as a parent, spouse, employee, or even a friend, you would understand what it means to be “taken for granted”. It’s a phrase used when people value something or someone too lightly or when someone benefits from your help, efforts, or presence without showing any appreciation for it.
There are many slogans nowadays reminding us to put ourselves first in order to avoid the pitfall of being unappreciated. We see quotes circulating around social media like “That’s the problem with putting others first; you’ve taught them that you come second” and as Christians, we sometimes give in to the rhetoric that people only care about themselves. We go on to build up walls around our hearts in hope that we could protect ourselves and our efforts from being overlooked. Sometimes, we get so preoccupied with protecting ourselves and trying to prove our worth to others that we forget about the worth of the God we
proclaim to have within.
We serve a God who has never built-up walls to shun or push us away because of our iniquities; rather He sent His only begotten Son to take on the heavy burden of flesh so that He could conquer death and give us victory over sin. God did not disbar us from His kingdom; He adopted us into sonship as His sovereign choice.
Psalm 8:4-5 reads “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honour.”
How many times have we taken this access to God for granted and undervalued the price that was paid for our sins? How often do we push God’s agenda aside to pursue our own self-absorbed interests believing that what we want for ourselves is of more value than Him? How do we think God feels knowing that His arms are outstretched providing and protecting us and yet for many, we second guess truly believing in Him?
We get caught up in the fanfare of life sometimes and forget that the air we breathe is not guaranteed but given by the allowance of God’s will and grace. Contrary to what many may believe, we are not entitled to life nor to God’s mercy for God himself said in Romans 9:18 that He would have mercy on whom He wants to have mercy and harden whom He wants to harden.
Many persons believe that serving God is hard and inconvenient, but they expect an answer to their prayers whenever they do decide to call on Him. Let us be thankful that the God we serve is the God of many chances – merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
With hearts of thanksgiving, let us serve God for He alone deserves all of our attention and praise. Let us commit ourselves to never take God for granted and ensure that our lives are an expression of Him. Let us take stock of the walls we build up against others and ensure that we are not building up any walls against God Himself. The only wall worth building is a wall where God’s light can penetrate through and that’s the wall we build up against sin.
