On this Easter Friday, I wanted focus on what we can do to show our gratitude for Jesus’ perfect gift of salvation. No verse better describes this gift than John 3:16, which says:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
In a perfect act of mercy, Jesus offered us complete salvation with his death on the cross. That gift has been fully given. It is done. It cannot be given any more completely. There is absolutely nothing we can do to earn more of it. But, what can we do to express our gratitude?
To answer this question, imagine a parent who gives all their wealth and possessions to their child. In this scenario, the child is not required to do anything to inherit the parent’s fortune. They don’t even have to call or show up for birthdays or holidays to get the fortune because it’s been fully given.
In the same way, Jesus’ gift of salvation doesn’t require that we do anything to receive it other than accept it. We don’t have to impress Him with our good deeds because He has already given us everything.
But this doesn’t mean we should become complacent in our spiritual journey. In fact, this beautiful gift should inspire us to grow closer to Him every day and walk more in His ways.
So, when I think about how to give back even a small portion of what Jesus gave me, I like to think about what I appreciate most as a parent. If you do something nice for me, that’s good, but if you do something nice for my child or say something nice about them, then you will have a special place in my heart. I believe God thinks the same way about his children, so to show our gratitude this Easter, let’s renew our commitment to love others and say nice things about them.
Questions:
If the gift of salvation has been fully given and can’t be taken away from us, why do we keep showing up at church, praying, and reading the Bible?
Although we can’t earn our salvation, are there other blessings/gifts we can receive by following God’s will?
Do you agree that one of the best ways to express our gratitude for salvation is to love others and say nice things about them?
What are some things we can do this Easter weekend to show our gratitude to Jesus?
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