The Greatest Gift

        I get a lot of offers for free gifts.  They come from companies that want to sell me something and they are going to include something absolutely free.  I have one mail order clothing company that has given me a number of watches valued at between 60.00 and 200.00 dollars.  One of them had a number of faux dials on it.  Do you know what the word, "faux" means.  It is a fancy way of saying that something is "fake."  No one is enticed by a product that is "fake."  So, we use a word that is not as strong perhaps in its meaning.  God gives gifts to men and when He gives a gift, it is really a gift, with no strings attached.   Ephesians 2:8-10 remind us, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."  
      Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote about this wonderful gift.  Now, God gives us all kinds of gifts.  There are many things that we get just because He is God, but this one is one of the most special gifts that He has given.  God described how we get salvation.  The phrase, "For by grace ye are saved through faith..."  That describes the gift.  There are millions upon millions of people who will try to work out their own salvation plan.  In the end, it comes up to be a "faux" plan or a fake plan.  Grace is something that is unearned and undeserved.  Many people have tried to describe it but we probably cannot come up with an explanation of what it is and the true depth of it.  Paul went on in the next sentence to say, "...It is the gift of God."  It is absolutely free in that there is nothing that we can do in order to earn it.  It is important that it is a free gift but perhaps the most astounding part of this is the first few words that says "...by grace ye are saved..."  You may get a lot of "faux" gifts in your lifetime and they may end up in the trash can as most of my "faux" dialed watches.  If you are thinking that we should be praising God for something today, this is definitely it.  Praise God today for salvation by grace alone and nothing else.  It is the free gift of God.