All Under God

March 20, 2021

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

~Romans 3:23~

I'm sure we all remember a time when someone talked of another has being a "good person," or even us calling ourselves "good people." We focus so much on our own ability to be good when in fact we just cannot be. Even Jesus didnt claim to be good when He walked the earth and He is the Son of God; sinless, faithful and true. " So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God."

(Mark 10:18)

If our Lord and Savior refused to call Himself good to His disciples, why then should we ever think of ourselves so highly? Do not get me wrong, we should not beat ourselves up. That is not what God wants. However, true humility is recognizing our inability to walk this world in the right path without Jesus every step of the way. For we all have sinned and fallen short. None of us can be righteous without the atonement that Jesus' Blood gives us. When we can live each day relying on Jesus, even for the simplest of tasks we can humbly admit our short comings and admit our weaknesses without Him. The Glory of God is far beyond human comprehension. His power is immovable and the purest. "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork." (Psalms 19:1)

Everything that is created sings songs of praise to His glory. Even the mountains and the trees know His Name. It truely is a sight to behold. We are but dust. "For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust."

(Psalms 103:14)

The mercy God has given us through His Son was needed since the beginning of time. He knew this. He knew Adam and Eve would fall before He made them. He knew that mankind would disobey and fall short. He made a way for us to still be in relationship with Him. Let us humble ourselves more each day as we remember the true act of grace that God has given to all of us to choose to follow Him. The ability to receive Jesus' righteousness through faith to bring glory to Him and Him alone. The next time we hear a person say this or even think to ourselves of being "good," let us remember we truely are nothing without Jesus and we all fall short. Let us not hate ourselves but rather love ourselves as He loves us and also love others as He loves others. "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12)

My intention of writing this is not to bring shame rather to bring us to a place of full humility so that we may receive more grace to act upon our calling in this world to show others His glory working through us. Without the grace of God we would remain fallen and have no way to eternity. "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

(I Corinthians 15:10)

Paul knew that without the grace of God working in him, he would of stayed right where he was before Jesus met him on that road to Damascus. He would of never been able to feel genuine peace, he would of never felt the joy of the Lord, he would of never witnessed many people coming to salvation as he preached and he would of never seen miracles of God pour out through his very own hands. God used a sinner who fell short to lead many to repentance and write several epistles teaching truth. Like Paul, we fall just as short and we too have the same ability to rise in Christ through His redemptive Blood. For when we think we are above, we are so far below. "When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2)

It is wisdom to understand we are all under God, we are all in need of repentance and we are all so blessed to have a way to carry righteousness in God. For without this we would not have access into Paradise. Let us give God such a praise for His great gift of life everlasting, for His Son's righteousness and for amazing Glory that cannot be measured. "Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory."

(Psalms 24:10)

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for supplying me with the presence of Your Holy Spirit which dwells in me to bring Glory to the Son each day. I live to serve You. Show me Lord how I can humble myself more to the knowledge of Christ, to understand I am not good I am only what I am because You have given me grace to be this way. I submit myself under You Father and give praise for the access You have granted me into heaven through the Blood of Jesus. Let Your glory be seen more as I walk in Your righteousness; all honor and praise be to You alone. Strip me of any pride and show me how to humble myself before You as I am grateful to be alive today, it is all because of You. It is in Your Name I pray this who is the Life and the Way, Jesus Christ. Amen.