An Undeserved Gift

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading, titled An Undeserved Gift, was written by Karen Pimpo. When my friend gave me a gift recently, I was surprised. I didn't think I deserved such a nice present from her. She'd sent it after hearing about some work stress I was experiencing.

Yet, she was going through just as much stress, if not more, than I was with an aging parent, challenging children, upheaval at work, and strain on her marriage. I couldn't believe she had thought of me before herself, and her simple gift brought me to tears. In truth, we're all recipients of a gift that we could never deserve. Paul put it this way in 1 Timothy 1, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. Although he was once a blasphemer and persecutor and a violent man, the grace of our Lord was poured out on him abundantly. The risen Jesus gave Paul a deep understanding of the free gift of grace.

As a result, he learned what it meant to be an undeserving recipient of that gift, and he became a powerful instrument of God's love and told many people about what God had done for him. It's only through his grace that we receive love instead of condemnation and mercy instead of judgment. Today, let's celebrate the undeserved grace that God has given and be on the lookout for ways to demonstrate that grace to others.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 1 Timothy 1, verses 12 through 16. I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Let's pray. Dear God, we thank you for your gift of mercy and grace that rescued us from the consequence of our sin. Help us to understand the significance of that gift more fully and then extend it to others. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Toni Collyer and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.