December 4th
The Free Gift of Salvation
Have you ever received something totally free, with no strings attached? Marketing executives often create advertising campaigns around free giveaways. They’re called B1G1F. That’s advertising speak for “Buy One, Get One Free!” But you know deep down that whatever they are giving away isn’t really free, is it? Somebody had to pay for the free product that is being given away, right?
Well, the gift of salvation IS free for you and me. All we have to do is ask for it and God is quick to give it to us.
Immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah. Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. (Ephesians 2:4-9, The Message)
When you read this, you can’t help but see that the gift of salvation is a gift… a gift of faith. Given not because of anything we’ve done… but because of God’s love. He wants to shower grace and kindness upon us. Do you remember a time when someone just showered grace and kindness upon you? Even when didn’t deserve it? Perhaps it was a parent… or a teacher… or a spouse… or a close friend.
God gives. We receive.
If you are a giver, sometimes it can be really hard to receive, can’t it?
There was a season in my life when I gave and gave and gave. I had this spreadsheet all worked out where I was on track to give away half of my income by the time I turned 50 years old. And then, I lost my job. It was my turn to receive. Boy, was it ever a challenge! But God taught me something. In order to truly appreciate the gift, I had to joyfully receive. During this season, an almost complete stranger gave us a couple of thousand dollars. It was a sacrifice for them to give. I didn’t want to receive it. But then, I realized that if I minimized the gift, I minimized the giver.
Thanks to Jesus’ death on the Cross of Calvary, thanks to His gift of laying down His life, we have the gift of life and life eternal. And if hadn’t been born, he could not have given us this incredible gift.
So, open your hands and get down on your knees and receive this most wonderful gift, the free gift of salvation.
Thank you God for the ultimate gift, the free gift of salvation. Give me a heart that truly appreciates this gift, and the Giver. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
(c) 2011 Rich Ronald
RichRonald.com 