|
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
(Ephesians 2:8-10)
Last Sunday, I preached a message at our church focusing on this passage from Ephesians 2. My first point of emphasis was this: God loves you.
In verse 8, we read about God's love in the one word, grace. Grace is something we all know when we receive or experience it. It means to receive something that we do not deserve. Perhaps you have heard of the acrostic: God's Riches At Christ's Expense. It is a gift that we cannot earn but only receive. When you are on the receiving end of grace, it changes you. Grace doesn't cost you anything, but it does cost the giver of the grace. I love to bestow grace on others, and I think it is because I have had so much grace given to me by God and other people.
Recently, my neighbor had a huge pile of dirt and rocks delivered to his driveway, and I mean it was a lot! To move this pile, there was only him, his wife, son, and daughter-in-law with one wheelbarrow. I was on my way to the gym but realized they were going to need some help. So, I offered, and they were like, "Sure, we could use the help." It was hot and hard work, but I was blessed to be able to help them and show a little grace to my neighbors.
My friend, Fred, who has made two trips already to help in Ukraine, tells me how the people in this war-torn country were just blown away that Americans would fly across the world to come and help. Grace is a beautiful thing, and while we may have a hard time putting it into words, we never mistake it when we experience it.
God created all of us and desires a relationship with us. He is holy and totally above us. We are sinners by nature and by choice, and in and of ourselves, we can do nothing to earn God's love or forgiveness. In other words, we need a lot of help. Jesus was perfect, fully God and man, and He offered His life on the cross so we could be forgiven of our sins. He paid the price that we all owed but could never pay. (See Romans 5:8 and 1 Peter 3:18.) God has lavished His grace upon us in the Person of His Son, Jesus. Jesus died for us. His gift is forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Oh, what matchless grace!
Our response is, we either reject God's gift, or we receive it. Paul was writing to a group of Christians in Ephesus who gladly received it. Will you?
|
Apple
Spotify
Stitcher
YouTube
