For by
grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your doing – it is the gift
of God, not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
We all love to get gifts. We receive gifts for birthdays from
family members who love us because we= re
related, or from friends because we= ve become
close to them. Sometimes, we try hard to be good, so we=
ll get better gifts. Santa Claus looks at how good or bad we= ve been when picking Christmas presents for us.
Sometimes, a panel of experts from all over the world chooses a person who= s done very special things to receive a gift of
honor, or a title, or a prize of money.
But the gift Paul is talking about to the Ephesians is a much better
gift than any of these. Better than anything we could ever receive from mom, dad, Santa,
or ANYONE. This gift is from God. God, who made everything that exists. God, who doesn= t change. God, who is holy, just, and righteous. The
gift God gives makes us his children.
God is holy, so there= s
nothing we can do and nothing we can be to deserve God= s gift. In fact, if we are without God= s gift we fight against him. We think about what we
want. Paul says that we were dead in our sins. Not just sick, but DEAD. And because of who
we are without God, we couldn= t even see how
hopeless and lost we were without him.
But our holy, just, and righteous God shows us his love as well. He
sends us the best gift ever. God sent his Son, Jesus, to pay for our sins. He also comes
to us, plants his gift of faith in our hearts, and makes us his children.
That is the BEST GIFT EVER!
Our Father and our God, thank you for sending your Son to save
us, and for sending your Spirit into our hearts. As our faith grows, help us understand
how precious and wonderful your gift is.
