But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 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.

Growing up in a Christian family, I always thought I had to earn my way to heaven by going to church every Sunday and obeying the Ten Commandments.

But I was always worried that I wasn’t good enough. In my heart, I knew that I wasn’t perfect.

When I was 17, I read this passage in Ephesians and a wave of relief washed over me.

God is a God of second chances (mercy) giving me an amazing gift that I didn’t deserve (grace): His Son Jesus.

I didn’t earn this free gift and there is no way that I can repay God for saving me.

Suddenly a light dawned on me and I fully understood and appreciated the enormity of “grace“.

I was baptised soon after and now live my life in thankfulness to God for his “grace“.

Think about “love”, “mercy” and “grace” – they are  closely interconnected:

Grace is clearly the greatest gift we can receive in our lives – once you realise this, you can relax and be free from guilt and worry forever. Nothing else matters.

mmmm Bible mmmm