I have been contemplating the word "deserve" lately. In the last week, a couple of friends have congratulated me on my new car and said, "you deserve this." While I am grateful to know that my friends think so well of me, I would never have thought of it in terms of deserving anything. Yes, I work hard for my money and I have tried to be frugal, pay off bills and save money so that I could afford a new car. But does it then follow that I DESERVE it? Yes, I totally needed a new car -- my old car was in sad shape and was getting to the point of being almost dangerous (and somewhat scary) to drive. Does this mean that I DESERVE a new car? Yes, I absolutely love my new car and am very thrilled that I bought it when I did -- I know this has nothing to do with DESERVING it.
So, what does it mean to deserve something? I have heard it said that GRACE (the free, unmerited gift of God) is getting what you don't deserve and MERCY (Jubilee Year of Mercy, folks!) is NOT getting what you do deserve. I have received innumerable gifts, blessings, graces in my life that I in no way earned or deserved. And I don't like to think of what I do deserve for all my failings (thoughtlessness, anger, pride, vanity -- just to name a few). My heart is just overflowing to think of how much Grace and Mercy I have already received in my life.
This absolutely is not meant to dis the friends who made the comments. I am so filled with gratitude and LOVE just knowing that I have such wonderful people in my life. I absolutely DO NOT deserve to have friends who think so well of me that they are happy for me to have something that they do not and that they actually think that I DESERVE to have it!! That is what I call real LOVE, folks -- and I honestly say that is worth way more than my pretty new car.
