found wanting

In the One Year Bible reading today, our selection is from Daniel 5:1-31. This is the famous scene where God literally writes on the king's wall to get his attention. We don't know if the king listens or not, and we're not sure how he met his maker. We only know that he died that night and was replaced by King Darius the Mede.

That brings us to a couple important lessons. One is that all of us deserve that message which was written on the wall, don't we? The message said, "You've been weighed and have been found wanting." None of us measure up to who we should be. We've all messed up, made bad choices, and have become less than we were meant to be. Fortunately He can work with what we've got.

Second, we should hold out hope for everyone in their last moments. We don't know if King Belshazzar listened to God's message or not. But God took the time to tell him, so maybe he did listen and repent after all. We can hold out that hope for everyone, and hope and pray that they, too, reach out in faith and repent of their sins before they die.

God, thanks for reminding us that we are all found wanting... but even the worst of us can come back to You.