A Day's Wage

My first real job was in a music store at Northgate Mall in my home town of Chattanooga. I was responsible for the sheet music department ... keeping all the music organized, helping students find the correct music for their various school requirements, and ordering new music when supplies ran low. I still remember the young man I worked most of my shifts with ... Bruce ... a guitar player rock star wannabe with long brown hair and cologne that reminded me of cowboys. It was a great first job for a gal in high school who had big dreams of becoming a famous writer one day ... listening to the stories of others with dreams of their own success, meeting people from all walks of life ... young and old alike, and even learning to play a little guitar compliments of my buddy Bruce.

It was quite a feeling the day I received my first paycheck with my name typed on it ... I felt like the queen of the world. Never mind that it was for a very small amount of money (minimum wage all those years ago was something like $2.50 an hour), I was earning my own money to spend however I wanted. Funny thing is, no matter how hard I try to remember, I have no idea what I spent that first check on ... which probably means it was something totally frivolous and unnecessary. I do remember, however, that my dad always told me how important it was to do a good day's work for a good day's pay ... a lesson that I've carried with me throughout my life on every job I've had. Even though I may have not liked the particular job, I always gave my best and worked hard.

I've been thinking about wages the last few days ... both in the physical and spiritual realms. Physically, I work as an editor ... basically, I get paid for being a good reader. Well, there's a little more to it than just reading, but in essence I am paid for my editing skills. My wages for my job are commensurate with what I give to my employers every day ... my extensive experience, my commitment to quality work, my strong work ethic. My spiritual wages ... now that's a whole different ball game, isn't it? The truth is that what I deserve spiritually is death; God's Word tells me that the wages of sin is death ... and I am a sinner. I deserve judgment and death, and yet the rest of that verse says that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus my Lord. There is nothing I could ever do to earn God's grace and mercy, nor will anything I ever do keep me from His far-reaching love and forgiveness.

Thank you, Father, that You give from the wealth of Your love and from the depths of Your grace ... that You give not what I deserve but what the sacrifice of Your only Son provides.