April 14 ~ Ephesians 2:8-10
You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That's why he sent Christ to make us what we are.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
A friend of mine was telling recently about being in an airport restaurant early one morning. His flight was delayed three hours, and he was hungry, so he ducked into this restaurant as soon as it opened, just after 6:00 a.m., and ordered breakfast. He was watching the people around him, and one lady in particular seemed in a rush and rather frazzled. He noticed that she ordered a coffee, but before she could pay for it, someone from the baggage counter stepped in and said, “I’ve got a spot for you, but you have to come right now.” She asked the server to take her money for the coffee, but the server was busy. My friend said, “Go ahead… I’ll get your coffee.”
This lady did nothing to earn a cup of coffee from my friend. He freely offered to pay for it. She may or may not have been a nice person who deserved a break. We will never know. She might brag about the nice man who bought her coffee, but she cannot claim to have done anything significant to merit such a gesture. About the best she can do is to “pay it forward” and do something nice for another person down the line.
I’ve oversimplified this analogy just a bit, but I think you’ll see where I’m going. My friend didn’t know anything about this woman. He helped her because he is a kind, generous man. But GOD knows everything about us, and the amazing thing is… He gives abundantly to us anyway! Like the woman who can’t repay my friend, we can’t repay God. But like her, we can “pay it forward” – if only in small measure by comparison. God sent Christ to make us loving, caring, giving people who do for others out of a desire to serve and obedience to His commands. We can’t brag about anything we have done… not even giving a stranger a cup of coffee (and for the record, my friend was not bragging!)… but we can surely brag about what God does for us each and every day!
We can never earn God’s love and blessings… but the good news is, we don’t have to. All He asks is that we trust Him to care for us… and that we share His message with others. God has a spot for you, and you should claim it right now… He’ll make sure you get whatever you need for the journey… how will you respond?
©2010 Debbie Robus
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