Every day we have, is one more than we deserve

I was walking around in the video store earlier, browsing through all the titles and wondering what to take out (which, sadly, seems to be all that I end up doing in video stores!!!!!!!!!), when the tagline of the movie Up Close and Personal (starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer) caught my eye:

"Every day we have, is one more than we deserve".

And though I'm sure the writers of that didn't mean it in a Christian context, it stayed with me because it so aptly sums up the grace God has given us in us still being alive.

To look at it from a human perspective, imagine that you've stolen a loaf of bread. Or maybe something more extreme like 5 million dollars. The police would immediately be on your case, hunting you down, and you'd eventually end up in prison (well, that is theoretically what should happen). There is no leniency for those who have committed crimes (yes, yes, I know that many people get away scot-free with awful crimes, but that's not helping my analogy, so hush baby!). Those who have broken the law get what they deserve: an apt punishment.

What about us? We, as rebellers, against the only True and Living Lord and God face death as punishment because the magnitude of our crime is so horrendous. Yet, God is so merciful he allows us to live so that those who repent might spend eternity with him. If we were to follow through with the human analogy, we should've been caught, judged, and thrown into prison ages again...

Every day we have really IS one more than we deserve.

God is good. Let us not forget His infinite mercy and patience!