Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 2:1-10 (day seven)
“For by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (v 8)
Grace. Unmerited favor. God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Paul’s own experience helped him to understand this truth. (Theology is always biography, at least in part) Without doubt, Paul knew that he had not earned the attention and kindness of Christ. Just the opposite. He had resisted and blasphemed and harmed others in his irrational anger. “Who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” Paul will later describe himself and the world of men. (Romans 1:18) Why is God kind to any of us? Nothing in any of us deserves this mercy. Grace is the only explanation. It flows out of God’s heart as a free and infinite gift. “According to the greatness of YOUR compassion, blot out my transgressions.” (Psalm 51:1) So long as we look at ourselves, we will be hopeless. Grace is the true story. Amazingly sweet sound.
