Do you like gifts? Would you prefer to be given all you need to live on, or do you prefer to work for it? Do you boast about your job, how hard you work so you can buy things? What if you could gain it all by simply saying, “Yes”?
Some of us are workaholics. Some might say I am…and I wouldn’t argue with them. Sometimes we like to brag about the amount of work we do. It’s sort of a status symbol. But some of us like getting gifts as well. Sometimes, I think we all just want to sit and do nothing.
What does all that have to do with God? Well, let’s take a look at today’s passage. God grants us grace with no requirement other than we have faith in Him. Of course, faith is more than mere belief. It is a commitment. It is active. But it doesn’t mean we need to be workaholics.
Faith means we trust God. It means we love God. God doesn’t require physical work from us, even though faith and love in Him will cause us to want to work for Him. Though nothing is free, God’s grace comes as close as anything does.
God wants to shed His grace on us. He desires our faith and love. When we give it to Him, He sheds more grace on us than we can imagine. More than the largest stockpile of whatever mineral we can think of. More than this world can hold.
We don’t always see His grace. Sometimes His grace comes through His work in someone else. Sometimes His grace comes in the form of delays, change of direction, or protecting us from harm. But most of all, His grace comes in the form of forgiveness for our sins.
I pray we all commit to God in faith. I pray we love Him with all our heart. I pray we accept God’s grace for what it is, a gift from God that is bigger than anything we can imagine. Put your faith in God. Love God with your whole heart. Accept God’s grace. Accept His forgiveness.
Ephesians 2:8-9 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.
Marty Pressey 