April 2, 2004	Read Ephesians 2: 8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
THERE IS GRACE The writer of this epistle goes on to remind the Gentile people of Ephesus that they had earlier been “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” The Gentiles were not a part of God’s covenant with Abraham, and the covenant at Sinai ¾when Moses received the commandments ¾was directed to the Hebrews. So how can we mortals (and Gentiles) ever be worthy of God’s gifts? What can we do to earn God’s favor? The simple answer is that we can do nothing, but nothing else is required. Paul explains that the blood of Christ brings the Gentiles near and eliminates all divisions between Jews and Gentiles. God loves us so much, despite all our failings and faults, that he saves us by his grace. Grace is defined as “God’s unmerited favor shown to humankind in Christ” (NRSV). Elsewhere Paul states that we are justified by faith (Romans 5:1). One pastor explained justified as “just as if I’d never sinned.” The slate is wiped clean with Jesus’ blood so that we can live, both now and in eternity. We are free to respond in love and thankfulness to all God’s mercies. Thanks be to God and to his Christ! Loving God, we know that it would be impossible to earn your love. We are grateful that our salvation does not depend on us. Help us to remember that works do not earn grace, but that they are indications of our thankfulness. EUNICE DOMAN MYERS, PHD

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