Discover this gift !

"For by grace you are saved through faith, and it does not come from you, it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2.8

Look at this box, the gift you want is in it !

God, by the grace that he offers you in Jesus Christ his son, has the power to forgive you, to free you and to save you.

"But if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace is no longer a grace, and if it is by works, it is no longer a grace." Romans 11.6

Between you and me, have you ever dreamed of being made a big present ? A huge present in a beautiful colorful box with a beautiful ribbon ? The kind of gift that, just by looking at the box, excites you and arouses your curiosity ?

Well, this gift we received for free in Jesus! Jesus died for us at the cross to make us this unearned gift, this immense grace, and we did not do anything for that ! Nothing ! It's his grace for us ! A bit like the young man in the story that follows.

One day a mother approached Napoleon to solicit a favor for his son. The Emperor replied that the young man had offended twice, and that justice demanded death.

"But I do not ask for justice," she explained. I plead for a grace.

"Your son," replied Napoleon, "deserves no favor.

- Sire ! cried the mother, it would not be a grace if he deserved it. A grace is all I ask you.

"Well, then," said the Emperor, "I will pardon him. And he spared the son.

Divine grace is a favor, an essentially benevolent disposition of God to man. He gives his blessing, not because of our works, nor because of our merits, but by grace. Jesus is God's free gift to men to save them.

All the graces of God (the forgiveness of sins, the salvation of the soul, the healing, the gift of the Holy Ghost, eternal life, etc.) are in Jesus Christ, and are received by faith. Just as this mother believed that the Emperor had the power to save his son, believe that God, by the grace that he offers you in Jesus Christ his son, has the power to forgive you, to free you and you to save.

A thought for today

Perhaps today you are the one whom everything condemns ? Know that the grace of God is there, even when everything seems lost. Repent sincerely. God will remove all your condemnation and make you know his forgiveness.

Jean-Louis Gaillard

Source (The Thought of the Day)