Have you ever been given a nicely wrapped and beautiful gift and immediately handed it back to the giver, saying that you are not interested and don’t want it? My guess is that hasn’t happened. Everyone likes to receive gifts, whether they are for a special occasion of a “just because” gift. My husband frequently surprises me with small tokens of his love, a gift that he got when he was out doing errands and thought of me. Did you know that you are on God’s mind all the time and that He has offered a free gift, the gift of salvation and eternal life, and yet some of you have turned away from the gift, rejecting it just as you reject God? The gift God offers cost you nothing; it is totally free. Yet to our Lord and Savior, it cost everything. We can only be right with God by accepting His gift. I can only imagine how much it must hurt God when so many people every day reject His gift, choosing instead the shiny things in this world that distract from the gift of the eternal life to come. We are only on this earth for a short while and what we do with our time here shows clearly what our priorities are and if we have accepted God’s gift of salvation. The era of technology that we live in today offers all kinds of glittery distractions to take our attention away from God and all that He offers us. Don’t be deceived. Your inheritance with the Lord is already there for you, but you have to accept it.

Justified by Faith

The letter to the Romans is packed with deep theological truths that are meant to shape the way Christians live. Paul, the writer of the letter to the church in Rome, covers the details of what is known as “the Gospel message”—a message that was handed down to them.

One of the central components to the Gospel is that salvation comes through faith alone. That means that we are saved by the power of God through believing and trusting in Jesus. Every Christian comes to God through faith—not through good deeds or by trying to earn salvation.

Paul says that we have peace with God by our faith in Jesus. Prior to that, we were considered ungodly and unrighteous, because we would live our lives in our own power, doing our own things. This led to separation from God.

However, by faith in Jesus, we are justified before Him. This means that through Jesus’ own right-living, we are made right before Him. Even though we still make mistakes, we stand innocent before God because of Jesus. 

It’s through being justified that we become children of God. We can have a relationship with God because of our status in Christ. We have access to God Himself, knowing that He is transforming us through our relationship with Him.

This means none of us can brag or boast about being a child of God. We all receive grace freely through faith. So right now, take a few moments to thank God for the incredible gift of salvation that He offers you. Then, reflect on what it means to be included in His family.