"Say what?!" {Part 2}

There are three phrases that people seem to say often. Three that I don't agree with.

1. "I found God."

I don't think so... I would have to say the accurate statement is "God found me." Jesus explicitly said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." (John 6:65) We don't hold onto Him. He holds onto us. Our salvation is not credited to us in any way, but to God and God alone.

2. "I deserve it." (said in reference to something good)

The only thing we deserve is full separation from God because of our sinfulness. Everything else "good" we receive is a blessing that we most certainly don't deserve and is a direct result of God's mercy and goodness. Other things that some people refer to deserving, like respect and love, are actually not things we deserve at all. Most of the time, we are so far from deserving either. Instead, God commands us to do both (especially in marriage) in complete spite of someone's deservingness. (Is that a word - deservingness??)

3. "God wants me to be happy."

God's desire is not to make us happy. He is concerned with our holiness. Marriage, children, jobs, all experiences and circumstances are in place to make us more like Christ, to bring us closer to God. And all of that should bring us JOY.