10 November | Youth
«For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.» Ephesians 2:8
What do you think when you hear that salvation is free? One might be tempted to imagine that it is something worthless. This is a mistake. Salvation has never been free and never will be. It is true that human merits do not earn salvation. However, the expression “free” may sound to some like something for which there was no price, and that is not true. What is free to us cost the precious blood of Jesus.
The apostle Peter tells us: “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet 1:18-19). The ransom is free for us, but it cost everything for God, who gave Heaven's most valuable gift: His only begotten Son.
Let us give an example. A good man was walking along a busy avenue when he saw a beggar barefoot on the hot asphalt. Taking pity on the wanderer, the Christian went to a store and purchased a pair of shoes. When giving them to the person in need, the generous man said: “This is a gift for you, so you do not need to walk barefoot on hot asphalt anymore.” Can you imagine the poor man's joy when he received that gift? It cost him nothing, but someone had to buy it and pay for it. The beggar only had to accept what cost a merciful person a significant amount.
With grace, it works like that too. God's love led Him to act on our behalf. We were lost, but we were freed, and it cost Jesus his life. It was not cheap, much less free. It was extremely expensive, but we can receive salvation freely by faith.
Salvation is a gift from God. It cost the immeasurable price of the blood of the Son of God. We deserved death, but God gave us life through faith in the merits of His Son. Jesus paid the price for the forgiveness of all of our sins. It was not “free” to Him, but we received it by grace. Do you accept this salvation today? Do you accept the gift? It cost a lot.