The Best Gift Ever

Ephesians 2:1-10

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Verses 1-3 are a wake up call to us to remind us of where we came from, or for those not in Christ where they currently are. Verse 4 starts off with a word that we most commonly associate with something bad is going to be said after. In this case, though, what comes after is Good News to all who believe. The great part about what is relayed to us here is that it is not something we did to deserve it or nothing we did to earn it. It happened only because of God's love for us and Christ's obedience to His Father's plan for Him.

Verse 8 reminds us that it is not because of anything we did and we can't take credit for what was done. It is purely a gift from God. How many gifts do you know of that sit unopened on Christmas or on someone's birthday? Why do people not want the gift that God has for them that will change their eternal destiny? I am so thankful that God has this plan for everyone, not just me or Billy Graham or CS Lewis. This is for everyone including Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and Adolf Hitler. They had every opportunity to hear the Good News and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior like everyone else but only two of the three accepted it. Obviously those three did not do anyting to deserve that gift nor did they do anything to earn that gift, but the gift was given to them just like everyone else.

You may be wondering why I would use them as examples it is simply to exercise the Word and its application to everyday life. God was able to reach both Mr. Dahmer and Mr. Bundy in the lowest point of their lives and they bent their knees in submission to Jesus and accepted the gift He had for them. No one is beyond the reach of Christ's blood. Christ's blood can either cover ALL sins or it can't. There is no inbetween with God. Christ's sacrifice has to be good enough to cover anything that we could do otherwise it wouldn't be good enough to cover even the smallest transgression. The Bible says His sacrifice was complete and totally acceptable to save ALL who believe.

Father I thank You that Your love for us was great enough to send Jesus to die on the cross for those sins that I commit. I thank You that His sacrifice is total and complete. I thank You that it is not by anyting that I can do or I have done, but only by Christ's sacrifice that I can come to You boldly and totally righteous. Jesus I am eternally grateful for what You did for me and will do whatever You call me to do. I praise Your name forever and ever. Amen.

Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)

The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).

Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved