The Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia, home of fictional prizefighter, Rocky Balboa, is as close to hell on earth as any place is likely to be. Video footage on YouTube shows drug dealers conducting business mere steps away from police. Addicts stand bent over at the waist, under the influence of fentanyl. Unconscious people lie on the sidewalks, and people step over them as if they’re discarded gum wrappers. Pedestrians and police pay no notice as they walk casually by. The videos show the worst side of the human experience. They personify hopelessness.
You’ve heard the old saying, “There, but for the grace of God, go I!” Paul said it better: “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Paul owed everything to God and he knew it. He was the least of the apostles (v. 9), but he humbly acknowledged that God chose him to be one. You’re blessed with eternal life if you’re a Christian. Moreover, you were blessed with the tools to resist the miserable life offered to you by the devil.
Thank God that you were taught the Bible, and it’s a light to your path (Psalm 119:104-105). The Bible’s instructions keep you on the straight and narrow (Matthew 7:13-14). It’s the power for your salvation (Romans 1:16), and the goad that reminds you to hate the pathway of sin (cp. Proverbs 1-7).
Thank God that you had godly parents and a home where God’s instructions were your daily food. Christians should never take for granted the stabilizing force of godly parents who teach us to follow God (Psalm 22:6). If your parents weren’t Christians, at least be thankful they kept the family together and loved you. That stability may be what prepared your heart for the gospel.
Thank God for your conscience. Godly sorrow must precede repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10; Acts 2:37-38). The Bible tells you what’s right, but it’s your conscience that provokes you to do it. Your conscience is alive (1 Timothy 4:2), and you cannot violate it (Acts 23:1; 24:16).
Thank God for His mercy. Your repentance of sins and God’s constant mercy fills you with hope of eternal life (Acts 17:30, 31; Luke 13:3, 5).
Thank God for heaven, the promise of which makes places like Kensington look even more barbaric and unappealing (Revelation 20:11-21:27).
Thank God for the blood of Christ. Jesus Christ died to pay the price of your sin (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 1:18-19). He did what you couldn’t do — satisfy the debt of your sin, and He taught you to renounce your sins and to obey Him.
If you would never “in a million years” live like the street people of Kensington, Pennsylvania, it’s because you’ve been taught to follow God, not the world. Thank God!
David Weaks