Choosing to Accept God’s Grace

In review of Romans 6:23 it tells me that “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (NLT).

Today’s verse is from Romans 6. It tells me that sin pays its wage, death; but God's free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

In my life I am free to choose between two masters, but I am not free to adjust the consequences of my choice. Each of the two masters pays with his own kind of currency. The currency of sin is eternal death. That is all I can expect or hope for in a life without God. Christ's currency is eternal life, a new life with God that begins on earth and continues forever with God.

Eternal life is a gift from God. If it is a gift, then it is not something that I can earn, nor something that I need to pay back. The most appropriate response to a loved one who offers a gift is graceful acceptance with gratitude. My salvation is a gift of God, not something of my own doing. He saved me because of his mercy, not because of any good things that I have done.

Grace is the gift that keeps on giving. When you get to know Jesus Christ and his grace and love, it gets better and better and better. It is available and extended throughout eternity. And the best is yet to come!

What’s heaven going to be like? I’m going to be reunited with loved ones who know the Lord. I’m going to be rewarded for my faith. I’m going to be reassigned a position of work that I’ll love to do. I’m going to be released from pain, depression, despair, shame, and guilt, and I’m going to rejoice and party for eternity. What a deal!

But there’s a catch: I first needed to accept it. A gift is worthless unless I accept it. I needed to accept God’s grace through his Son, Jesus Christ.

There is one person who will never reject me, and his name is Jesus Christ. He’s saying to me, “Come home.” The more I understand the grace of God, the more I will fall in love with God and the more I’ll want to draw closer to Jesus, because it’s almost impossible to not love somebody who loves you that much.

In summary, sin will pay its wage, death. God offers a free give of eternal life with Christ. It is not something that I can earn, nor something I need to pay back. The most appropriate response is gratitude. God offers this because of his mercy.

Bottom Line:

God offers a gift of salvation, take it.

What this means to me:

God offers me a gift of salvation and everlasting life. My most appropriate response should be deep gratitude.

This morning Father I want to take a few minutes to reflect on what you give me and to be grateful for your mercy and kindness to me. I want to refocus my day with the grace you offer. I also pray Father for your wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my interactions with others and in my planning for leading my team. These things I pray in your Son Jesus name, amen.