“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” 

Ephesians 2:8

OBSERVATION

No one ever works to get a gift. Doing chores might get us an allowance and we might earn a paycheck by going to work, but a gift stops being a gift the moment we have to work for it. A gift tells us more about the giver than it does us. The giver of a gift does so because of their love, not because the other person is loveable. In the same way, we can never earn God’s love or salvation. It is God’s gift to us. Not because we did something to deserve it, but because God’s love is so great.

APPLICATION

Once we receive a gift, we cannot receive it again. Can you imagine your grandma giving you and Xbox and then taking it back and giving it to you again, over and over? That would be weird and confusing. But we can respond with thankfulness to the gift over and over without it getting weird. If you have already received God’s gift of salvation, take time to remember His gift by thanking him for it. If you haven’t received God’s gift, maybe this is the perfect time to receive it. We receive His gift through belief that Jesus died for our sins. No work required.

PrayER

God, thank you for your love and for saving me. You sent your one and only Son to pay the price for my sins. Jesus, thank you for doing for me what I couldn’t do for myself. I love you.