The Gift We Don’t Deserve

Have you ever received a gift that you didn’t think you deserved?

I’ll never forget when I exchanged birthday gifts with a friend several years ago. I peeled back the paper, expecting to find something sweet and simple, only to discover a gift certificate that was worth triple the amount of the gift I gave her.

I felt so guilty, I couldn’t bring myself to use the certificate. I tried to think of ways to repay her, but they all fell flat. It was impossible for me to believe she simply wanted me to have this generous gift because she cared about our friendship. I kept telling myself that I didn’t earn this gift—so I didn’t deserve it.

We’ve all received a gift we don’t deserve: the forgiveness of our sins.

By being imperfect people, we cannot make enough sacrifices, do enough good things, or purify ourselves from our brokenness. Jesus is the only perfect sacrifice for our sins.

He exchanged His life for ours. There’s no greater gift than that.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:10 (NIV)

There are many possible responses to the gift of God’s forgiveness. A few of them include:

• Trying to earn God’s forgiveness (even though we can’t) through good works and sacrifices
• Treating His forgiveness as commonplace because we simply can’t wrap our heads around the weight of this gift
• Wallowing in guilt over Jesus’ sacrifice because we know we don’t deserve it
• Not believing that we’re truly forgiven

I’ve struggled with all of these responses, and honestly, I continue to struggle with them. Why? Because I’m a logical person, and it doesn’t make sense for God to offer this gift freely.

But then I remember He loves me. He loves His people. He loves the world He created, even though He despises its brokenness.

And that’s why He’s offering us an escape from the brokenness, an opportunity to experience His everlasting light even in the darkness.

Have you ever loved someone so much, you would do anything for them?

That’s the kind of love God has for us. Overwhelming, overflowing, indescribable love. The kind that prompts Him to do whatever it takes to be with us for all eternity.

So what’s the right response to God’s gift?

• Praising God for His holiness and endless love
• Asking God for help in accepting this gift
• Doing good deeds, making sacrifices out of love, and serving those around us–not to earn God’s grace or repay Him for His gift, but from a thankful and sincere heart

How might God be prompting you to extend grace to someone who doesn’t deserve it today?

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)