GIFTED AND GRACED (September 15, 2023)

“Lucky you!” we mumble when our rival’s putt drops in the cup from 50 feet away.

“Wish I was you,” we grumble when our colleague lands the big promotion and the corner office with a view.

“It must be nice,” we mutter when the car we can’t afford is parked across the street each night.

But who is actually more fortunate—the one who wins a round of golf or office ladder-climbing—or the person who receives God’s offered gift of happiness forever? Add up the scorecard—tally all the perks—and there’s nothing that comes close in value to the new life we are given as believers.

“Since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us to this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand” (Rom 5:1-2).

It’s love, not luck, that makes us rich in grace. “To all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

Receive the gift that’s offered you.

And stay in grace. -Bill Knott