His Mercy and Grace

“Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind, and the powerful are not what they appear to be. If you weigh them on the scales, together they are lighter than a breath of air. Don’t make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing. And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life. God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times: Power, O God, belongs to you; unfailing love, O Lord, is yours. Surely you repay all people according to what they have done.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭62:9-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

All of us are but dust, naturally speaking. An old secular song by the group Kansas articulates this reality so well. Written by band member Kerry Livgren, the song hits at the heart of every humans experience. The original video of this song on YouTube has 138 million hits. That is astounding. This tells us that we all identify with that reality. The book of Genesis identifies our origin.  “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬ The Spirit of God within us is what gave us eternal life. When man sinned in Genesis 3:1-7 the Spirit left him and he became a dying creature rather than a living one. We are all dying creatures. Our bodies are decaying. However, our spirit will last eternally in one of two places - Heaven or Hell! We, because of sin, are hell bound. However, we can be born again by the Spirit of God (see John 3:1-8). Because of the blood and body of Jesus, we have salvation through repentance of our sin and acceptance of His sacrifice for us. This is the only way for us to live forever.  Our mortal lives are temporary, short lived. We place so much emphasis on things that don't last and will one day be gone. Yes, we should appreciate and be thankful for the blessings we now know but we must never lose sight of our mortality. We cannot buy another day of life. We are not identified by our financial status. We are all sinful creatures that are dying. No matter how much paint we put on the surface, we are deteriorating.  “For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭12:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:16-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬ True life is locked up in Jesus Christ. The only way to know that life is by repentance and salvation through His mercy and grace.  The best thing we can do is embrace every day as a gift from God, know Him as our personal Lord and Savior, love Him, and honor Him in each and everything we do. There is no other meaning to life. Those who think there is are simply deceived.