My last post was about God as a Gift giver. That evening I had my women’s Bible study, and found quite a few more verses about God giving us a gift. I felt lead to talk about it again, thanks for reading!
Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.
Do you like getting gifts?
I have a friend who doesn’t like to receive gifts. I’m not sure why, but she doesn’t. I love receiving gifts. It’s one of my love languages. Coupled with quality time, receiving gifts makes me feel like the person giving it was thinking about me. They took their time to do something for me. It doesn’t matter the price or the size of the gift, one of my favorites is when my husband or my boys makes me a cup of tea without me asking for it.
Getting what I deserve
Have you ever watched those makeover shows? It doesn’t matter which one you watch, the people who are receiving the makeover are almost always described as deserving it. At least once in the episode you’re likely to hear “they deserve it” or “she deserves it” or “you deserve it”. This phrase has always rubbed me the wrong way. I always think to myself, “why do they deserve it?”. I’m pretty sure they don’t deserve it any more than anyone else. I’m sure if they got to know the person more, they would know that they don’t always treat everyone well, they aren’t always perfect. The wages of sin is death. Somehow, I let the generosity they were receiving get tainted by my need for justice.
I don’t get what I deserve
In the verse above, we’re told that the wages of sin are death. I deserve death. But like in those makeover shows, God doesn’t give me what I deserve, He gives me a gift of grace through His Son Jesus. I’m not destined for death, but life eternal because Jesus died on the cross to save me from my sins. I’m just like those people on the makeover show. I’m not any more special or important than any one else. But God says “You deserve it”, not because of something I’ve done, but because of what Jesus has done for me. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9. It’s not by what I’ve done but by who I am through Christ Jesus. What an amazing gift.
Do you deserve it?
God is... 