Day 50 — Grace Takes the First Step

Main verse

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
— Ephesians 2:8 (KJV)

Meditation

We are used to receiving according to what we have accomplished. Work deserves wages, effort leads to a result, and success brings recognition. Without realizing it, we may apply the same reasoning to our relationship with God.

We then think we must improve before approaching him. We try to correct our faults on our own, put our lives in order, and present a more acceptable version of ourselves. But grace begins precisely where we recognize that we cannot save ourselves.

God does not love us because we have finally managed to become worthy of him. He meets us while our lives remain imperfect. His love precedes our understanding, our repentance, and our efforts. It is his goodness that gives us strength to rise again.

Grace gives weight to our choices without making them the price of our welcome. It forgives us, lifts us up, and teaches us a new way of living. Transformation responds to the love we have received; it does not purchase it.

A child who falls does not tend to the injury before reaching toward a father’s arms. The child calls from the ground. In the same way, we can turn to God from the very place where we have fallen.

Today, we have nothing to prove to gain his attention. We can simply open our hands. Grace has already taken the first step toward us.

Psalm

Psalm 103:8–13 (KJV)

⁸ The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. ⁹ He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. ¹⁰ He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. ¹¹ For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. ¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. ¹³ Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

Further Bible reading

Ephesians 2:1–10; Romans 5:6–11; Titus 3:3–7

Suggested hymn

The Church Hymnal (1941), no. 295 — “Amazing Grace”

View the hymn reference ↗

Prayer

God of grace, free me from the need to earn your love. I come to you with my weaknesses, my faults, and my inadequate efforts. Teach me to receive what I can neither buy nor produce. May your goodness lift me up and bring renewed life within me. Amen.

A thought to keep

I do not take the first step toward grace: grace has already taken the first step toward me.

Personal Notes

What would you like to remember, pray about, or put into practice today?