While the rest of the U.S. is burning, here in WA state, we can enjoy the cool of the morning!

I like taking walks in the morning through my neighborhood especially on a nice day like today. After reading my Bible for a few chapters, I stroll through the neighborhood to pray and to converse with God. It was still chilly in the morning, but the air was crisp and the sun felt good. Then a feeling of guilt came over as I thought about how blessed I truly am.

Why should I get to live in such a neighborhood – with manicured lawns, two-car garages, a playground, etc? Why should I get to live in one of the richest countries in the world? Why should I get to have a job that pays me for what I love to do? Why should I get to raise my family in peace time when there had been so many wars? Why should I get to take walks like this one without fearing being mugged or persecuted? What have I done to deserve any of it?

I am under no illusion whatever that any of it is my doing. It has nothing to do with me or my ancestors. It’s not because we have lived a good, moral life. It’s not because we have served God. It’s not because I have decided to become a pastor. It’s only because of Christ and what He decided to bestow in spite of how selfish and wicked I am. And then giving me the eyes to see the blessings in those things – How tragic it is for people who have all those things and yet do not see them as blessings!

“You are the children of the Lord your God… Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chose you to be his treasured possession!” Deut. 14:1, 2

PH