Free Gift

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)

Often we struggle with understanding what the importance of works and salvation means to those of us who have become a Christian. Many people that call themselves Christian and several cults that are out there believe that you must work to gain salvation and that the more you do the better your standing in heaven will be. This concept has and will continue to plague the church and believers because so many people just cannot accept the concept or idea that salvation is a gift. You can do nothing to earn it. What motivates you to give a gift to someone? See that is what the problem stems from we look at salvation from a human standpoint we only give gifts to those deserving special attention so we do not and for many cannot understand the concept of a gift given freely and without any strings attached. We believe that it comes with strings and requirements. It comes with three; one is we accept it and the second is we allow Jesus to be our Lord and Savior and thirdly we are to tell others about Jesus.  That same love you and I have seen and accepted is to be shared with others. Now this is where works really comes into play; as a believer, we should desire to do good things that will show others the love of God. We can do that in many ways from talking to them or providing assistance through the food bank or any other of a million ways we can meet the needs of the lost. Yet we must understand the works do not make us anymore or any less saved. What the works do is bring us into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. In this closeness we begin to understand the gift we have received and our desire to share it will continue to grow. It also grows our love for our fellow man and shows the love of God to the entire world. This teaches others that we are the children of the one true God allow the Holy Spirit to draw others unto Him. Have a blessed day in the Lord and allow the free gift you have been given the opportunity to change you through your service to the one who loved you enough to give it to you.