DAILY DEVOTION, December 29, 2022

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith… (Ephesians 2:8)

I recently read an article on entitlement and decided to return to a familiar verse. There are things we are entitled to possess. If you pay for a car or a home, you are entitled to use them for your benefit. If you buy a show ticket in Branson, you are entitled to watch the show.

Are we entitled to possess salvation? Does God owe us His blessings? The answer is an emphatic NO! Are we entitled to live a trouble-free life, free from tornados and cancer? What does God owe us? The only thing we are entitled to from God is an eternity in hell. That is what we have earned. That is what we deserve. Salvation is by grace. Grace is God giving to us what we don’t deserve. He sent His Son to redeem us. He did this by taking the penalty to which we are entitled. When we trust in Jesus, we enter into the grace of God. God forgives us and grants us eternal life. Do we deserve it? NO! It is a gift from the grace of God given to the unworthy.

Yes, we are entitled to many things, but salvation is not one of them. Therefore, never think that God owes you anything. Instead, receive His grace with gratitude.

Father, thank You so much for Your extraordinary grace that sets me free from sin and death. I don’t deserve it, but I receive it by trusting in Your Son with gratitude. I pray in His name, Amen.