PODCAST
The Gift We Must Share
November 3rd, 2012
Ephesians 2:1-10
When someone offers me a gift, I am often inclined to say, “That’s nice. How much do I owe you?” I know that is the wrong response, but for a variety of reasons, my natural inclination is to want to pay them back even though the gift was not requested and repayment is not expected. The appropriate response to a gift is “Thank you.”
The “pay our own way” mind-set gets in the way when it comes to receiving the gift of eternal life. As soon as we receive God’s gift of salvation we feel this intense obligation to try to pay God back or work off this gift of grace. We must remember that our salvation is not a result of our own effort, ability, or service.
Even though no action or work we do can help us obtain salvation, God’s intention is that our salvation will result in action. We are not saved merely for our own benefit but to serve Christ and others as we build up the body of Christ. Out of gratitude for God’s gift, we seek to help and serve others with kindness, gentleness, and love.
November 5th, 2012 at 5:34 pm
In reality, when you receive a “great” present from someone, you usually tell all of your friends. Even, every now and then, you tell a person that you don’t really know because you over heard their converation and know they would benefit from it. You normally don’t go door to door with this exclamation, unless you know that they, likewise, would benefit.
However, the pessimist would wonder “why” we would care so much.