For by Grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing;it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)

As humans, we often do try to reach God. We often stretch to the heavens and hope to reach him. We try and try to be kind and we try to be“good people.” We hope that all of our works and good deeds will someday get us to heaven.

The problem is that many of us fall flat on our faces very short of that goal. As hard as we try, we are never good enough. How do we know this? Scripture tells us that God and His law are the standards. If we look at other humans, we will look great depending on the person. Or we may look horrible.

If we look at God’s law, we are all guilty of breaking the law of God. Scripture tells us that if we even break one of God’s laws, we have brought upon ourselves the guilt of the entire law. The fact of the matter is, none of us are perfect.

However, this is not the end-all statement. Ephesians 2:4-5 tells us that God is rich in mercy and He saved us from our sin. Even while we were sinners, Romans 5:8 tells us, Christ died for us. When we look at passages like Ephesians 2:8-9, it should bring us so much joy. We don’t have to be perfect.

Instead of striving toward a goal we can never reach, we are brought to the goal by the perfect sacrifice Christ provided on the cross. By God’s grace, we are made right in God’s eyes. Through the faith that God gives us, we are saved out of a life of sin and into freedom in Christ.

This salvation doesn’t stop there. God continually makes us more like Himself. He makes us holy. Stop and think about that for a second. Instead of us striving to be holy, we are made holy by God. What an awesome God we serve.

Let us turn ourselves over to God. Rely on Him for your salvation and He will save you and make you holy. God does it all. We are recipients of this amazing grace.

Prayer: Lord, help me remember the salvation that comes from You. Help me to do good not because I have to earn Your salvation, but because You saved me regardless of my works. I want to do good because You want good for me. Amen.