GRACE

As humans we earn things. It's how we function. We earn money, we earn a position in a job, we earn trust, we earn respect, some even try to earn love..and then there are those like I was, who try to earn salvation. When I was a little girl, I always tried to earn God's love by doing things that were good, and refraining from doing bad things. But what happens when you slip up and you do something bad? Does your salvation go away until you can make it right? Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “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.” When I truly started to understand the implications of this verse it completely changed my life. As people, it is hard to let things out of our control, especially for someone like me. I like to make sure I deserve something before it is handed to me, and it makes me awfully uncomfortable when I am being pitied. But that was exactly what Jesus did for me. He gave me something, or actually many things, that I don't deserve, and he had pity on me. Once I realized that Jesus did those things, it was easier to realize that I didn't want things handed to me because of my own pride. I suppose that is why grace is such a hard thing for me to grasp. Grace is a gift, a gift that could never be earned. If I tried to pay for my sin, it would take me all eternity. Instead of me paying for my sin, Jesus did. He stepped in and He tore the veil, so now not only can I have salvation for free, but I can also talk to God and have certainty that He hears me. Understanding grace is the first step to understanding how much Jesus paid for us. Jesus was the only thing that could keep us from dying spiritually and eternally paying our debt that we could never pay. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus became sin for us. The same us that sins every single day. The same us that can go days without talking to Him, or thanking him. Jesus SAVED us and he FORGAVE us and continues to save and forgive us every day. Psalm 103:12 says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." God is so faithful to forgive. For me, this means no more making a tab of all my sins in my head and allowing satan to remind me of them again, and again, months after I have repented. This also means that I can live freely and have abundant joy knowing that I am safe in the hand of God and my salvation is free. Anxiety no longer has a hold on me. Fear is long gone. Satan has been silenced by the power of Jesus. And the best part is that I had no say in any of that. Jesus was kind enough to give that blessing to me. Instead of doing good deeds for my salvation, I can now do good deeds because of my salvation. Learning God's kingdom, and how things work in the kingdom, we will learn that we cannot earn things- not love, not grace, and certainly not salvation. Though it may take some time to realize, this is the biggest blessing that God has given. It all takes trust, and once we learn to trust, life becomes so much sweeter and GOD gets all of the glory- not me.