for in giving and receiving gifts ); they simply facilitate expectations and how to meet them .
Like a red envelope that silently signals an orchestrated dance of honor and respect , expectations and qualification , I wonder if we are sometimes tempted to view the gift of grace — from God — as a ritual of forced etiquette within an unspoken exchange that determines and secures worthiness .
Ritual can feel reverent , but without relationship , assurance is fleeting and love is questionable .
Have we mistakenly imposed a set of rules for receiving the gift of God , hoping to contain all that is infinitely mysterious and impossibly difficult about fully grasping redeeming grace — the ultimate gift of God ?
And then we wonder , after following all the tidy rules and self-made standards : Is this as good as it gets ?
I ’ m here to tell you no — it ’ s not .
Here ’ s what I know about God ’ s gift of grace :
• We didn ’ t deserve it and did nothing to merit his favor toward us . “ But God , being rich in mercy , because of the great love with which he loved us , even when we were dead in our trespasses , made us alive together with Christ ” ( Eph . 2:4 – 5 ).
• God pursued us with love and intention to pull us out of the sinkhole of misery and self-sufficiency , and he made us fit to be with Jesus through Jesus . “ By grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus , so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus ” ( vv . 5 – 7 ).
• He made it abundantly clear that it was his idea , his provision , his way , and his gift . “ For by grace you have been saved through faith . And this is not your own doing ; it is the gift of God , not a result of works , so that no one may boast ” ( vv . 8 – 9 ).
God eliminates the tension of his gift by pronouncing us as unworthy to begin with and by declaring , with tremendous clarity , that his rescue was motivated by mercy and love . We don ’ t have to question his motivation . God ’ s only obligation was to his own holiness ; his love for us did not have to end for his obligation to justice to begin . Both were met in the cross of Christ .
“ God eliminates the tension of his gift by pronouncing us as unworthy to begin with and by declaring , with tremendous clarity , that his rescue was motivated by mercy and love .”
What if we didn ’ t skip over this passage from Ephesians 2 but sat with it , thought on it , let it sweep over us with truth that we didn ’ t dismiss as impractical doctrine ? Friend , I wonder if this is why some of us keep limping along in
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