He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. (2 Timothy 1:9)
I was reviewing some emails recently and was struck by the number of golf-related messages I’d received. I found it interesting how many of them seemed to be amazing offers. There was an ad to buy sunglasses that the pros wear with the promise that “when you see better, you’ll play better.” There were golf socks “proven to reduce foot pain, plus give you more distance & accuracy.”
Let’s not forget the new training mat that transforms your swing in minutes, leading to a consistent, pure strike that “will add yards to your golf shots.” My favorite was about a brand-new putter that was “guaranteed to take seven strokes off your game.”
Holy cow! If I purchased all of those offers and their claims were true, I might be headed to the PGA Champions Tour. Well, that’s a stretch given the state of my golf game, but maybe at least I could claim bragging rights among my golfing buddies.
But let’s be real here. We’ve all heard stories about offers that seem to be too good to be true, so we are wise to question whether something we hear about is really all that it claims to be.
While there may be some doubt about the offers I described above, we who claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior know of an amazing offer that is 100% guaranteed. It may seem to be too good to be true, but we know it is the real deal. And it’s not something we have to do; it’s already been done for us.
Of course, the amazing offer I am referring to is the gift of salvation. The requirement to be saved was fulfilled by what Jesus Christ did on the Cross. Paul writes in Ephesians, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
We who claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior know of an amazing offer that is 100% guaranteed.
Two thousand years ago, God sent His Son into the world with one overriding purpose, to save us by dying on the Cross in our place. Jesus lived the life we couldn’t live and then suffered the death we deserved so that death could be conquered through his resurrection on Easter morning.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” We are a new creation. That means we are given a new birth, a new heart, and a new nature.
It truly is an amazing offer, and Christian author Max Lucado sums it up well: “So how can you go to heaven? Just believe. It’s that simple? Yes, it’s that simple.” However, it was not that “easy,” at least it was not easy for Jesus.
For him, there was nothing easy about it. The cross was heavy, the blood was real, and the price was extravagant. It would have bankrupted you and me, so he paid it for us. Call it simple. Call it a gift. But don’t call it easy. Call it what it is. Call it grace.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us so much that you sent your Son to save us and reconcile us to you. Help us to boldly share this amazing gift with others. Amen