Take a moment to read Deuteronomy 10 before reading the devotional below.
I received a lot of participation trophies as a child – for soccer, baseball, theater performances and even for singing. It wasn’t until I was a junior in high school that I earned my first actually trophy. A friend of mine was sick, and he needed someone to fill in for him on the debate team. I was naturally argumentative, so I said I’d fill in. After an entire Saturday of arguing about useless topics (I recall spending 45 minutes arguing that in fact Santa Claus is NOT coming to town.), I had scored best novice debater in the state. Regardless of whether debating was a big deal, I was wildly excited just to be the best at something.
Deuteronomy 10 is really a continuation of the previous chapter, but it will end with a declaration of who is the absolute best. Deuteronomy 9 began with God reminding the Israelites that he didn’t choose them because they deserved it, then using a series of events from Israelite history to make the point. This chapter continues that series of anecdotes, draws the conclusion from the opposite perspective. Chapter 9 drew a conclusion about what Israel was not: Israel was not worthy. Chapter 10 draws a parallel conclusion about what God is: the greatest of all Gods, unalterably just, and voluntarily loving.
It is easy to look back on our lives and relive all our failures and mistakes and sins. It is tempting to let those moments define us. Yet God’s message in all of those moments is that He is a God of grace. He graciously chose us, knowing that we were sinful. He graciously loves us when we prove to be more sinful than we (though not he) expected. We graciously welcomes us back whenever we seek his forgiveness. From first to last, the story of our lives is not one that focuses on our sin, it is a story of His love.