A Gift You Can’t Earn

Read

Ephesians 2:8-9 “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.”

Think

Imagine it’s your birthday party, and your friend, Mia, hands you a big box with a bow on top. You tear off the paper. It’s the exact art kit you’ve wanted for months!

You’re so excited. But then you think, “Wait. I should pay her back.” So you dig in your pocket and pull out 37 cents and a piece of lint. “Here,” you say. “This is for the present.”

Mia would look at you like you were being silly. “It’s a gift!” she’d say. “You don’t pay for a gift!”

Yesterday we learned that God made us to do good works. But the verses right before that tell us something super important. We don’t do good things to earn God’s love.

The Bible says we are saved “by grace.” Grace means getting something good that you didn’t earn. It’s like that birthday present.

So what does “saved” mean? Every person has disobeyed God. We’ve all done things our own way instead of God’s way. That separates us from God. But God loves us so much that he sent Jesus. Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sin, and then he came back to life! Because of Jesus, we can be forgiven and close to God forever.

That’s the gift. And the verse says it’s “not by works.” You can’t earn it by being good enough. You can’t earn it by going to church a lot, or being really nice, or getting good grades. Trying to pay God back would be like handing Mia 37 cents and lint!

All you do is receive the gift through faith. Faith means trusting God. You tell him, “God, I believe Jesus died for me. I want to follow him.”

So where do good works come in? We don’t do good things to get God’s love. We do good things because we already have it. When you know how much God loves you, you want to share that love with everybody.

God’s love is a gift. You can’t earn it. And you don’t have to be good enough to keep it.

Isn’t that the best present ever?

Apply

Say thanks for grace – Tell God thank you for the gift of Jesus today. Have you ever told God you want to follow Jesus? If not, talk with a parent or your small group leader this week.

Pray

God, thank you for the gift of Jesus. Thank you that I don’t have to earn your love. Help me trust you and help me share your love with others because you loved me first. In Jesus’ name. Amen.