Debtors to Grace

“I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’” Joshua 24:13

The blessing of God is always a result of the grace of God, we never deserve God's blessing. After Israel received their inheritance, having driven out the inhabitants of the land, God reminds them to not get proud or entitled about the land they were now living in. They lived in cities they did not build and ate food they did not plant. How often do I look at the blessings God has bestowed on my life and forget who gave them to me. I look at my job and think I got that because of my education, background, and skill set. I think of my home and think this came about through a series of investments and choices that brought in enough money to qualify for a loan and make a down payment. I think of my family and claim that I was able to pursue and woo my wife into a relationship with me and through my wooing, we are now a family. All the blessings I have received, without explicitly acknowledging it, I count as a result of actions I did. Blessings seem to be thought of as my just desserts. I praise God he reminds all of us that we are merely poor men and debtors living in the mansion of the king. The food we eat is from the king's pantry, and the bed upon which we sleep is covered with noble linens. Israel was not a special nation. They were smaller than everyone else, stubborn, and a nation without a home. They were poor and lowly nomads and slaves. But God saw fit to give them cities and land, vineyards and pastures, cattle and fruit, and make them a nation greatly feared by other nations. I am  no different. I was a man born into selfishness and pride, without discipline or love, an absolute slave to sin and helplessly bankrupt with regards to spiritual life. I was literally dead to all things that mattered and utterly incapable of doing anything about it. But God saw fit to save me, to give me a city and home I did not build, and vineyards I did not plant, and he did so out of grace. We cannot forget that we are debtors to grace and undeserving recipients of blessing.

Lord Jesus, I praise you for your grace and am in debt to your blessings. I praise you for you are a God of love unspeakable and riches everlasting!