Les Henson
The gift of salvation comes to us through the mercy and grace of God in Jesus Christ alone. There is nothing we can do to earn it, nor can we add to it that may supplement it. Salvation is a free yet costly gift. However, for many of us who seek to follow Jesus, this is one of the most challenging truths to grasp. We may pay lip service to this truth, but our lives often portray a different reality. We so often slip into living as if salvation depends on us doing and saying the right things, or we assume that the virtues we have acquired contribute to our salvation. The reality is that we come to Christ with empty hands, and we must learn to follow him with open hands trusting alone in the finished work of Christ. Both our good works and our virtues must constantly be placed upon the altar and burned with the all-consuming fire of God’s mercy and grace. We need to learn each day anew that while salvation is free, it cost us everything, for, like Jesus, we too are called to take up our cross and follow him.