God's Gifts

For by grace you have been saved through faith;

and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

God loves to give gifts and His gifts are the best.

Let's list some of them out:

• Salvation - this is the biggie!  The greatest gift ever given was His Son
• Faith - even our ability to accept salvation stems from a gift He has given to us
• The Holy Spirit - another huge one!  If all these gifts were placed in a gift box upon salvation, the Holy Spirit could not possibly be contained
• Redemption - purchased with a price we couldn't pay
• Justification - our account wiped clean as if we never sinned
• Adoption - His choice, not ours
• Sanctification - the promise to conform us into the image of His Son
• Spiritual gifts - to serve the body He supplies us with talents and gifts
• Every good thing in general comes from above, right? Our abilities, our discernment, our giftedness, the air we breath, the rain that produces food, our sustenance, our livelihoods…the list  truly does go on and on

What I love about these verses above is that whether it's grace, faith or salvation - all of these things are gifts from God so that no one can boast in their good works.  Period.  Boasting in our salvation would be like boasting because you have small ears.  What did you do to not have oversized elephant ears? Nothing.  What did you do to save yourself? Nothing.  Well, you had faith in Jesus, right?  Even that faith was a gift.

It's all about Him today, my friends.  Let's keep it that way.