“I shouldn’t have” or “I should have”! Which one do you have trouble with?

You are more sinful than you can believe, but you are more loved than you can imagine.


I read this phrase for the first time yesterday. It put a tremendous conviction on my heart. We are truly much more sinful than we could ever imagine. Hold up your life in comparison to that of Jesus and it doesn’t take long to see the extreme differences. At this time of Lent (or preparation for Easter for the non-Methodists out there), it is important to really look at the flaws and the just plain old sins in our lives.

For me, I know that my sins fall in all categories, but to greatly simplify this subject, I am going to break them into two categories, the sins of commission and the sins of omission.

I think when I am dealing with the people I know and the normal worldly tasks, my sins are sins of commission. I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have thought that way about that person.

When it comes to what the Lord wants me to do in service to Him or in service to others, my sins are sins of omission. I really should have studied my Bible or said my prayers. I should have helped that stranger. I should have given to that mission.

So, it is really quite simple. We all have the “I shouldn’t have” and the “I should have” decisions in our daily lives. Thank God we have grace from above to cover both, because God does love us more than we deserve through His Son.

The Lord blessed this sinner today as he does every day. Doing what is required to become a Methodist pastor can be fairly expensive to someone in my shoes. My wife and I have considerable financial burdens placed on us because of our pasts and the fact that we have been recently been blessed with a baby.

School books of any kind, as everyone knows, are very expensive and I had reached a point where I was in need of some. I went to the Lenten lunch at our church today and one of my Sunday school class members, Mrs. Nancy H., gave me the books that I needed to continue at this point in my training. It was truly a blessing. Through her help, God blessed me with a way to continue along my path. I am so very grateful to her for thinking of me and praying for me. I truly need all the help I can get.

The gift of those books to me is just one example of how God loves us sinners more than we can imagine and way more than we deserve.

May the Lord bless you today with a repentant heart and understanding of the all those times that “I shouldn’t have” or “I should have”. We are blessed with free will in all things, but those who are saved through Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit to guide them in their lives daily. It is my wish for all who read this that they learn just how wonderful a redeemed life through Jesus Christ can be. For those that are saved, may the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ continue to work in and through our lives as we reach out to others. Amen

Blessings,
Robbin