For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. (Romans 12:3)

I want to draw your attention to Billy’s comment after yesterday’s Catch. It’s a good one. “We are definitely worse than we thought, and He is better than we could possibly have imagined.” 

This is so true and shows how we need to use a little corrective thinking here, because I think Billy’s right. We all have a tendency, because it’s part of human nature, to think of ourselves “more highly than we ought” (Romans 12:3). (Obviously Paul thought so too!) And this is important, because our understanding of God’s grace is related to how deeply we connect with our own sin and need for mercy. 

If we think of ourselves more highly than we ought, we will not be as overwhelmed by God’s grace as we should. God forbid we may not even need it! The religious leaders of Jesus’ day didn’t. They were already righteous on their own merit and actually thankful that they weren’t like the wretched sinners around them.

The more we think of ourselves with “sober judgment,” the more astonished we will be at the amazing grace of God. The worse we are, the better He becomes. The worse we realize that we are, the more we are amazed at His grace.

“We are definitely worse than we thought,” and it’s a good thing that “He is better than we could possibly have imagined,” because we’re going to need every bit of His good will to see us through to the kingdom. 

And this is not a one-time thing. This is the way we live every day, with this kind of awareness about ourselves, about Him, and about others. 

1 More Day Only

Catch MemberPartner, advisor to the Catch Ministry and previous lifetime missionary to Japan, Roberta Stephens, requests we consider supporting Gordon and Lee Ann Hwang and their ongoing service in Japan with International Ministries by participating in a “Flash Sale” over the next two days consisting of fabulous items remaining from its auction. All items are discounted with “Buy-it-Now” purchasing. Also, for the 17 more valuable items, the organization will hold a Flash Auction between now through the 24th. To learn more about the Hwangs and how you can participate click on the banner above.