My husband and I took a ride this morning and we spoke about faith. At a certain point I said that God isn’t Santa Claus. Too often people think that if you are good then God will reward you will Heaven and if you are bad, God will punish you with Hell. That sounds just like Santa Claus. If you are a good child, Santa, who is always watching, will reward you with presents and if you are bad, then Santa will punish you with coal. God doesn’t work that way.
God’s grace means that God loves and forgives us because we are His children. Not because of anything we do. Jesus didn’t die for our sins and then say but only if you are Christian. He died for everyone’s sins, no exceptions.
God’s grace is always there. It has always been there, and it will always be there. It is our problem if we don’t recognize it and accept it. It is just like prayer. Prayer doesn’t change God or His plan for us, prayer changes us. When I decide to have faith in God, it changes me. It doesn’t change how God treats me or sees me.
I just suddenly realized something very important. I was once told that the root of all sin is pride. It is the ultimate of pridefulness to believe that the actions of a tiny little human being could change the plans or God Himself either through prayer or by accepting God into their heart. That’s the ultimate in pride. I know I can’t change God or His plan. I don’t have any control over God, and I never will. In God’s eyes, I am less than a grain of sand, and I am grateful that He gives me life. He isn’t going to reward or punish me for my behavior. He is all powerful and all knowing. If anything, I should be eternally grateful for every single second of my stupid little life and if I have enough sense to have faith, then thank my lucky stars that I recognized God’s grace was there for me before I ran out of time.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
