For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
I often wonder how those who first read those words in Paul's letter to the Ephesians took them. Consider, the religions of the time, even that of the Jews, were often bloody things. Sanctification often came through animal sacrifice and burnt offerings. For the Jews of this time period, their life revolved around a list of laws, of yoke of things that must be obeyed and practiced and kept. A list of sins which could not be cleansed, but only covered slightly by the blood offering of the sacrificial lamb. The Greeks of Ephesians were not all that different, though their morality lent itself more towards lacking hubris and moderation, they still had to appease the various gods with sacrifices, both of animals and of other things such as wine or oils.
And then Paul's letter appears, teaching the above, the big three tenets of Christian beliefs: Faith, Grace, and Salvation.
How those sentences must have burned in their breasts. This new thing of grace. This concept that God loves us, and we don't have to follow random lists of rules to try and earn that love, that he's willing to just give it to us. That he wants to.
I grew up in the church, and heard these concepts from a young age, I knew them. I understood them. Even as I learned them, and knew them, I did not always hear them. These words, that were parts of the coloring pages from Sunday School, that were verses from songs during praise and worship, and ultimately spoken from the pulpit Sunday in and Sunday out, had lost their context. I knew them, I could recite, and sing of them, but I often did not grasp the immediacy of them.
I did not think like those first believers, in awe and wonder that God Himself was gracing us with this gift of salvation.
To be honest, sometimes I still have trouble internalizing them; I have trouble thinking that God has this gift of salvation for me. After all, why me? What did I do to deserve this? I've not been glorified. I stumble. I fall and I fail.
And at those times I struggle to really remember what grace is. I try to not just know it, not just internalize and understand it, but to approach the entire concept with fire and awe and a desire. I remember that grace is that love and mercy which God gives us not because we worked for it. Not because we are nice to others. Not because we have paid for it. Not because we have begged for it. Not even because we deserve it. God grants us His grace, simply because he wants us to have it.
That he loves us, and cares for us, and desires to know us.
I remember that grace can only be gained by willingly accepting, what God freely offers.
Journal Prompt: Who do you want to lift up in prayer today? Why?
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