February 3, 2025

Romans 3:10-13  (HCSB)
10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.

Sarah Ricciardi
In college I read Augustine’s Confessions. I can’t quote him, but I remember a portion where he talks about infants. He argues that if you spend time with a baby, you understand that human beings are not inherently good. Doesn’t sound like a warm and cuddly sentiment for an expectant couple. But I bet you have already uttered an “amen”. No one is good. Even if I can manage to hold it together for a whole work day, apart from heavy doses of Jesus time, my self-centered nature oozes out. It does so in the least when I grumble over laundry or another dirty dish. Or at the most when I shoot a harsh word towards Jason. When I go to bed with my endless to-do list streaming through my head, creasing my brow. Instead of worship wooing me to sleep, I too often worry about what I didn’t get done or what I should’ve not done. The other morning I woke up singing “He’s a good, good Father.” Just like that. It played through my head as I made coffee, took the dog out, tackled my mess of curls. It felt like this huge gift—this long inhale and exhale of Truth. It reminded me that, though we are all messed up, God pursues relationship with you and I. Providing eternal salvation, yes, yet even more. God provides grace and goodness in the midst of our muddy moments. Expect Him to show up, Friend, to interrupt your sleepy thoughts with His Truth. Let’s allow that to be our daily anthem, tossing the grumbles and guilt aside.