The Gift of Grace
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
These verses in Ephesians remind us of our role in the redemption and refinement process – the truth is that we don’t have a role in it, and we weren’t considered for a speaking part. God doesn’t need our help to give us the gift of salvation.
He extends his favor on us so that we have the opportunity to go to heaven, just because He loves us. He spares us from paying the price that we should pay for our sins, just because He loves us – no strings attached.
Grace is the pathway that connects us to Christ and humbles us to see our desperate need for Him. Even though many of us are “good” people, we don’t get into trouble, and we do our best to serve God as we should, we still do not deserve a clean slate and free ticket into Heaven. Even though many other people are “bad” people, they do horrible things to others, or think about themselves in a selfish way, they deserve to pay for these decisions and acts.
God extends the same grace and love to them as well – it’s kind of hard to understand, but “we” are no better than “them.”
This brings up the human need for justice in our culture – I don’t know about you, but I am always struggling with the need for things to be fair. I often feel that my “good” actions deserve praise or reward, and I struggle with only seeing my sins as “not so bad” (because I’m a “good” person). I want to be treated like everyone else, and I want others to “pay” for hurting me.
This verse humbles me in these areas. God did not send Jesus to die for our sins to be fair or just – no human truly deserves that gift. It also humbles us with the truth that we cannot earn this gift by doing good things. We have no part in it.
We are all in the same group, on the same team, and in the same desperate need for a Savior. Our works can bring honor to God and are a way for us to praise Him because of this great love, but His gift of eternity is purely based on the fact that He chooses to give it freely to us. All we have to do is believe, trying to accept this mystery as the foundation of our lives as Christians.
Take away: Consider the fact that you cannot earn your salvation. Take a deep breath and let that sink in. This fact is an enormous gift that only God can give, and we can believe, understand, and accept this fact only through God. Live life based on this fact and enjoy the freedom that comes with being a child of God.