Devotion:
For an audio version of this devotion, click here.
Read Ephesians 2:1-8.
This classic passage contains some of the most beautiful and powerful teachings on grace – God’s love poured out on us and made complete at Easter. It tells us that we are saved by grace through faith, and our salvation is a gift from God.
Reverend Paul Smith had retired after 50 years as an Elder in the United Methodist Church, and then he came to serve at Christ UMC as our Minister of Evangelism. I vividly recall being in a Bible study he was teaching on this passage one night. To illustrate the passage, he held up his Bible and said, “Let’s say this Bible is God’s love that God wants to give someone, but it is not a gift until something happens.” Paul walked over to me and held the Bible out to me. I smiled blankly at him. Paul thrust the Bible a bit more emphatically toward me, and I took it. “Now it is a gift!” Paul exclaimed. He went on to say that we are saved by God’s love for us that is grace…free, undeserved, and unmerited…a gift. But we have a part to play. Through our faith, we simply accept the gift of God’s love and are pardoned.
Personal Worship Option:
Pray with me: Gracious God, you love me, and you offered this gift of salvation to me. Thank you that, even with my incomplete faith, I accepted your gift of love and pardon. Now point me to others who need to know that this gift is being offered to them too. Amen.
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