It’s A Gift

• What’s the most impressive thing you’ve ever accomplished by yourself?

• Why is it sometimes hard to ask for help or admit that you can’t do something by yourself?

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

The apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians 2 go against everything we’ve been taught. Our country was built with the spirit of self-sufficiency. We’re told that the first step to success is a can-do attitude. Riding on someone else’s coattails is looked down on. We’ve been led to believe that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. And in many cases, that’s true—just not when it comes to salvation.

There’s nothing we can do to make up for our sinful nature. We can’t be good enough or sorry enough to earn God’s forgiveness. Only Jesus can pay the price that God demands for sin. Only he can give us eternal life.

On the one hand, that’s a pretty humbling thought. We’re useless when it comes to saving our own souls. We’re completely in Jesus’ debt. On the other hand, it gives us an appealing message to take to other people who may be interested in eternal life: Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to earn it; just believe in Jesus and receive God’s gift.

PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for taking the pressure off of us. We could never be good enough to earn salvation. Help us find ways to share that freedom from sin with others. Amen.