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. (Ep[hessians 2:8-9)
This might be one of the most offensive
passages in the Bible. It is the way Christianity differs from the other
religions. Salvation is needed. We sense this if we have any wisdom. We run
from the need because we resent that we have a need. Over the past few days,
we’ve seen that we may presume we have salvation without faith in Him, and fool
ourselves, but not Him. Oh, we may not say it. We may not even feel it all of
the time, but when we least expect it, that niggling voice of irritations
creeps in. If nothing else, it whispers that we should be better than we are,
or that we are better than they are. Other times, it whispers, “work harder!”
But Paul tells us that this offense is
a gift. We can’t earn it. We can’t accomplish it. We don’t deserve it. And it
irks at least a little that we can’t and don’t. Why bother to try if we can’t
win? Why must we grovel in our need for a handout like a beggar on the street
corner?
When we do receive gifts, how often do
we think we deserve them? “It’s our birthday,” says Smeagol. It’s Christmas.
It’s Valentine’s Day. We worked hard. We did a favor. We gave them something.
We’ve been good _________s. We’re “worth
it.” Except, it’s not; we didn’t, we haven’t, and to the extent we’re worth it,
it’s not because of anything we did or didn’t do.
It is by grace. It is a gift. At some
point, we need to accept that.
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