For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. —Ephesians 2:8-9
As a child, I loved to receive gifts. In such a simple time, a gift meant I was loved. I didn’t worry about the significance or hidden message in a gift. I wasn’t concerned about the “strings attached” to the gift. It was just a gift — a free expression of love I didn’t deserve, given to me by someone who truly cared for me. Isn’t it great to get to be God’s child and receive his gifts and know we can receive the gift of salvation through faith as a child a gift given as an expression of God’s great love for us — a gift we didn’t deserve but freely given because of God’s desire to provide it despite its cost!