Monday, August 23, 2010

Undeserved Privilege

"Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand..." Romans 5:2

This isn't the whole passage, but I love the term undeserved privilege. Our culture is a world of undeserved privilege. We like to think that we have what we have because we worked hard, we tried hard, we saved and pushed our way to get where we are. That's really not true.

Because we work so hard, it's easy for us to think we deserve the things we have. These are privileges that we work and sweat for. It's ours. We love that about ourselves. And although there's nothing wrong with hard work(in fact it's a biblical principle), the message of the gospel is that we earn nothing. We get to participate in the privileges of God even though we don't deserve it.

I've only shared this with a few people, but there's a part of me that wants to brag about this adoption thing. The process has been long and difficult. People have been overwhelmingly helpful, but Anna and I have both worked hard to get where we are. Now it feels like we are in the home stretch, and there's a part of me that wants to say "I've earned this." However, the reality is that God has been at work at this before it even popped into our heads. When I read "undeserved privilege", I hear that God does all the work of redemption. God does all the work of adoption.

It's humbling. It's wonderful to be a part of. More than anything, it's comforting to know that my hard work gets me very little. It's just a response to the God who has already done all the work. I just get a lot of undeserved privilege. It's a pretty nice perk.

Russ

4 comments:

Unknown said...

It's amazing how adoption can bring you to a place in your faith that almost seemed impossible to reach! I've never grown more in my faith than I have in our adoption of Charlotte and again in our current adoption for twins. I can't wait to see your referral post!
J
www.gfinkfamily.blogspot.com

Alison said...

SO true...love this post and that verse!

Us4 Cats said...

hi.


i wanted to say we just joined to follow your blog.

we too are adopting thru Gladney from ETH. we just turned in our prelim paperwork. its so exciting.

please stop by our blog and even follow, if you like. we are a newer blog and getting followers is always fun!!

looking forward to your updates.

Unknown said...

Would you mind if I reposted your thoughts here on www.wearegraftedin.com? I think your thoughts here are ones we can all identify with. And, it's a really good reminder for all of us. Let me know!

Kelly@wearegraftedin.com