It’s usually said with a cynical smile and an eye roll: “My good deed did not go unpunished.”

And it nicely sums up the exasperation we feel when life doesn’t seem fair, when hard work isn’t rewarded, when doing the right thing brings only more trouble and heartache.

But what if the more accurate summary of our lives was actually the inverse: “My bad deeds did not get punished.”

According to the Bible, our faith in Jesus means that we’ll never get what we deserve—and we will be deliriously happy with that outcome! “But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 5:20-21).

Grace offers us believably good news: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

Let cynics retire. Let the saved rejoice.

And stay in grace. -Bill Knott