“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Lord. “

Titus 3:4-6 (ESV)

One of the most common mistakes we make is assuming that our own works count for anything. Don’t get me wrong, good works are important in the life of a believer, but they are made possible by the work of God in our lives. Our own works by our own righteousness is nothing when it comes to salvation. In the passage above, it shows us that God in all three persons is responsible for our salvation. God the Father saved us by His mercy. God the Son died for us and poured out the Holy Spirit upon us. The Holy Spirit regenerated and renewed us. This means the Holy Spirit literally made us a new creation and then put our life on the right track. But why? God gave us mercy through Christ and by the Holy Spirit, but why did He do this? The answer is simple, yet profound. It was because of the goodness and loving kindness of God. How awesome is that? God loved us and showed His love, goodness and kindness by sending Christ to die for us. If that wasn’t enough, He made us new through the Holy Spirit.

What does this mean for our lives? We know we are saved by God’s love and kindness. How do we apply this? Because God first loved us and saved us, we first must love God back. If we take the standard that God set through our salvation, we must love God to the point where we are willing to give our lives for Him. This is hard to hear for many people, but if we are to serve God the way He served us, we must give Him everything. One thing we must understand is that we cannot do this on our own. It only comes through the power of God in our lives. Second, we must share the love of God with those around us. God saved us and that is amazing! This is the best gift we have ever been given! So let’s get out there and share it so that others may know this awesome love and mercy.

This week, seek to do those two things. Seek to love God as best we can and seek to share the good news that you have received to those around you.