The gift of salvation

For the true Christian salvation is the greatest gift there is and it’s a gift that they have been blessed to receive.

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. Ephesians 2:8-9

It is the gift of God.

Have you ever stopped and just thought of the magnitude of receiving a gift from God? In our human minds we easily say God did this or the Lord did that. We claim the blessings that we are given but have you ever just stopped and thought about what it means to be given any gift from God? Why would He chose anyone to bestow a gift of any sort upon? And why…oh, why…would He choose me to give even a miniscule gift to?

He has billions of souls to choose from. He isn’t restricted by time or place. He could just as easily have given all good things to one person in one time or have saved them all to be given to someone in some future time. He has an eternity of time to pick from and he has every person ever born…or not born…to pick from. Why would He pick any one person to receive and particular gift?

And if those questions come up when speaking of something miniscule in the Lord’s eyes…after all what is…say a miracle…for our Holy God…then how much more so must we question why me…when salvation is the gift?

The Lord chose those that are His before the beginning of the earth (Ephesians 1). When He made out the list of those that would be His he had every soul that would ever be to chose from…why me? Why did I make that list?

Truly, it isn’t for me to ask why. He had His plan from the beginning and I fit into it as He saw fit. And somewhere in that plan, somehow, I was chosen to belong to Him.

Can the magnitude of that gift even be put into words?

Can I begin to describe the complete unworthiness of me in comparison to the gift I was given?

Many people, children especially, are fond of saying, ‘it’s not fair’, when anything doesn’t go their way but now I find myself thinking…it’s not fair. My receiving the gift of salvation isn’t fair. Nowhere in it is there anything fair. It wasn’t fair to all those that will never receive salvation. It wasn’t fair to those that can’t see the gift of salvation because they have been blinded by the very Lord that dispenses salvation. It wasn’t fair…in many ways to me. Don’t get me wrong…I’m very grateful. But…do you have any idea what an awesome burden it is to walk with this gift? To receive it?

To know that there was nothing I could ever do to earn or deserve it and yet I got it anyway. What makes me worthy when someone else isn’t? What makes me the recipient when others never made it into the line?

When I was growing up my family had a statement that went like this…When God was handing out x, So-and-so was standing in line for y. That statement was made often. I have a sister that was blessed with beautiful hair. Total strangers would come up and comment on her hair. She had a tendency to be weak in a certain area. It was common to hear…when God was handing out x, ___________ was standing in line for a second helping of hair.

How that statement came to be, I have no idea. It was just something that was often said. The truth is there is no line. The Lord doesn’t work that way. He gives as He sees fit. And the giving of salvation is one of those things that He simply hands out to the recipient of his choice.

Not all that long ago I had a friend ask me if I was a fatalistic Christian. I had to look the meaning up. I had never heard the term before and had no idea what it meant. In the end I had to answer, ‘yes’. I was, according to the definition, a fatalistic Christian.

Meaning, I believe the Lord controls all things.

And so there is no line. I didn’t stand in line for the gift of salvation. Somehow, someway…I was given the gift of faith. Soul deep, saving, life changing, faith. It wasn’t anything I asked for. Wasn’t anything I sought. It was…quite simply…a gift.

And I am forever grateful for that gift.

That huge, magnificent, awesome, beyond comprehension…gift.