Responding to God’s Salvation Grace

He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

Acts 3:8

Once I saw a movie about a very intelligent, blind young man. His fiancee loved him so much that she was willing to donate a substance from her own eye for the surgery to make this young man see again. The implication, unfortunately, is that the lady will have imperfect vision, but that was a small price for her to pay for love.  When the young man’s sight got better, however, he began to see clearly; so clearly that he saw many other beautiful ladies and suddenly realised that the woman who saved him wasn’t so beautiful after all. I’m sure you can complete the story from here. Before you blame him though, just be sure you won’t do the same under the same circumstance; human beings are always too quick to forget. 

We can learn an even better lesson, however, from our friend at the Beautiful Gate, the one we discussed yesterday. Before his encounter with Peter and John, the crippled man was helpless, bound by the limitations of his physical condition. Similarly, before we come to know Christ, we are spiritually crippled, unable to free ourselves from the bondage of sin. From birth, we are enslaved by the power of sin, incapable of breaking free on our own.

Just as the crippled man experienced a miraculous deliverance from his condition, so too are we set free from the power of sin through the saving work of Jesus Christ. When we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, His grace washes over us, cleansing us from all unrighteousness and granting us new life in Him.

However, our response to this incredible gift of salvation shouldn’t end with mere gratitude or complacency. Just as the healed man entered the temple praising God, we are also called to live out our faith actively, expressing our joy and gratitude for the freedom we have gained in Christ. Don’t be quiet about it; let your life reflect it. As the apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

I really do hope that like this healed man, we will respond to God’s grace with hearts full of praise and lives dedicated to His service. That we will use our freedom in Christ to glorify God in all that we do, walking away from sin and embracing the abundant life He has promised us.

PRAYER