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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
Grace, an unmerited favor, an undeserved love, and a description of God’s interaction with mankind. This is awesome when we properly understand even a little of who is dealing graciously with us. In our day, many of us operate spiritually out of a sense of entitlement or selfishness. We automatically see situations in light of a “what’s in it for me?” mentality. In so thinking, we presume upon God’s grace, and easily forget our true sinfulness and guilt (Romans 2:4). We sometimes assume that God in fact owes us something. We begin thinking God owes us salvation because of our excellent church attendance and giving record. Or we believe God owes us an economically stable life because we aren’t bad like everyone else, we don’t swear, watch R-rated movies, or vote for the wrong political candidates. This is a grievously sinful mentality, and it is all too easy for us to take the grace of God for granted.
The reality of our situation is this: we, “his workmanship”, created in Christ Jesus for good works”, owe God everything, while he owes us nothing! We are saved by grace “through faith” in Jesus; don’t forget, even our confession of faith is due to the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts (1 Corinthians 12:3)! Meditate on this passage today, and pray that the Holy Spirit would show you His grace and reveal any pride concerning your salvation and inherent goodness that ought not be.