Are we bored? Taking things for granted?

We take so many things for granted in our lives, don't we?

Sometimes it's our families. Do we feel like our husbands and kids take us for granted? Do we feel like our relatives, or those we take care of each day, just feel like we will always be around? Do we feel like they don't treat us as well as they could?
Are we, ourselves, guilty of taking family members for granted?
We live with them, day in, and day out. We just assume that they'll always be here.

Sometimes we take life itself for granted. It takes horrific events like the bombings in Austin, Texas, or in Isis-held lands, to shake us out of the doldrums. As someone who has been spending more time "on the road" recently, life has been something that I think about....is that driver in the next vehicle high on marijuana or dope? Is that why they are weaving a bit? Am I going to be able to thread the needle between that semi and the pickup truck, all the while going down a steep grade? Am I going to make it home to spend more time with my grand-kids, or not?

Sometimes we take this gorgeous world that we live in for granted. We stop seeing the beauty and miss the joy of the daffodils nodding in the spring breeze. We don't really look at the pear trees, shedding their white blooms in a snowy avalanche as we walk under their branches. We fuss about the late spring snowstorm, and miss the quiet that descends with the flakes of snow.
Some people take things for granted, but then have an experience that gives them a new appreciation for life.
And sometimes we do that with our faith!
Especially if we were raised in a church. We grow so accustomed to our faith that we fail to appreciate the beauty and joy of it. We simply take it for granted.

This week, leading up to Easter, I wanted to pause and think along these lines.....
In his letter to the Romans, Paul felt it beneficial to remind the Christians in Rome about the basics. These people that he was writing to were already Christians. Some of them had been Jews who grew up in devout homes, practicing faithfully the laws of Moses. Others had lived their whole lives paying homage to the Greek and Roman gods. But all of them had come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. They all knew the truth, but Paul felt it necessary to remind them.
So, let's look at a few things that we may be taking for granted.....

Paul, like some of his Roman readers, was trained as a Pharisee. As such, he thought that righteousness before God was achieved by keeping all of the commandments. And that was pretty much a full time job!
But Christianity teaches us something completely different. Instead of our having to achieve righteousness, our faith tells us that righteousness is given to us -- it's a gift of grace.

(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:15-17)

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:4-9)

Do we also take for granted the fact that we don't have to "be" any certain type of person to reach His hand? We don't have to climb to heaven to reach Him. He came to us! We have access to Him....

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)

No more need for the high priest. No ritual of tying a rope to him with a bell, as he goes into the holiest area of the temple, and intercedes for us. Most Christians know that they can turn to God at any time. We simply can pray. Some of us take that awesome privilege for granted. Look again at this verse we mentioned last week:

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,    and his ears are attentive to their cry; (Psalm 34:15)

We cannot take his mercy for granted, either, but daily remind ourselves of His compassion for us:

We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. (Daniel 9:18b)

We'll look at these concepts more this week. Hope you will join us!