...ETERNAL LIFE WITH THE LORD OF ALL CREATION! Anything else is cake! Anything less is, at least, deserved.
I hear the word "entitlement" thrown around a lot nowadays ....mostly referring to socio-political discussions. A dictionary definition of "entitlement" indicates...'a right to a guaranteed benefit'. It is feared that we, as Americans, have fallen into a sense of "entitlement", and no doubt so has the rest of the modernized world. But as a Christ-follower... "entitlement" is our only hope of salvation!
Let me be just a little more careful with my words here. God doesn't "owe" you or I a single thing. We are "His" creation, whom He can redeem (cash in) if He so desires, or can be disposed of if He so desires. Those seem like very harsh words don't they? Again, let me be careful not to paint a portrait of a giant, mean, god. The God to whom we submit, who owes us nothing, is, in fact, anything but that. He is "holy" (set apart) and He is just! Anything less would make Him a lesser god. I would submit He is either Lord "of" all, or not Lord "at" all. It is only by His "grace" that we are "entitled" salvation. Knowing that He could just as easily choose NOT to entitle a single positive benefit to me, and knowing that He does so because He loves me is a humbling, fearful, and encouraging thought (under-statement).
He is the Lord of all creation. Who am I that He is mindful of me?
O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. -Psalm 144:3-4
