A Free Gift

I am reading this morning from Ephesians 2, "Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature...but God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved!)...God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do good things he planned for us long ago."

I get so many things out of this. I was once dead, I lived for the accuser who said "I was not worth anything other than..." but by His special favor He rescued me. I was at one time a very hateful young woman. I was full of every kind of evil, but it was while I was still in that, God showed His favor upon me and saved my soul. I did not just wake up one day and save myself and turn all of my hate around into love. No while I was still full of all kinds of evil, He saved me! I did not deserve it. I only had to accept the gift that He offered me.

My Grandmother was a woman full of love for others. She had gone through so much in this life, abuse from her father, 43 different surgeries, cancer three different times, etc...But in spite of all of her hurt in her body her love poured out of her. I think in order to over come her many physical challenges, and keep her independence, she had a very hard time accepting any help or gifts from anyone. When someone would bring her a gift she would always offer to pay for it. She would almost insist until the person would explain that they wanted her to have it "free." Then she would graciously and humbly take the gift with only a "thank you."

This is how many of us try to handle God's free gift of salvation. He knows we have done nothing to deserve His love. He knows we are a sinful people. He knew I was so full of hate and all kinds of evil and He loved me during those times. All that I had to do was to accept His free gift and say "Thank You." Of all the people I know, I am the least deserving of the gifts that my Father has given me. What I deserve is to live in misery and then to burn forever with my sins, but He offered me a way out. Christ saved me! He took all of my sins, and they are many, and paid for them. So that I would have a "free" gift. I cannot pay for this wonderful gift, for how do you pay for a gift? That is the whole point of receiving a gift. I could have turned it away. I could have rejected His gift and refused to take it. How foolish that would have been.

I now try to live my life to please Him. I work for Him with the best of my ability, but this is not a payment for what He has done for me. I could never repay Him for what He has freely given me. I live for Him because, I am in love with Him. I am in love with Him, because He loved me in spite of..."I love You, Lord. Thank You for loving me, even though I have been so unlovable. Thank You for changing my heart. Thank You for accepting me when I was so ugly. I can never repay You for saving me. But I can love You. I love You, my Savior, my Friend."