It's a Gift

“Take it for gifted not for granted”

Loren Thornburg

Granted has many uses and meanings. One of those is the common phrase of ‘taking something for granted,’ meaning we fail to appreciate someone or something that is familiar or obvious (Oxford). It’s a common phrase in part because it’s very common that we do that. We miss it, we don’t see the full worth of the good things that are in our lives. We become accustomed to having certain things and begin to feel entitled, forgetting that they are a gift. Your family is a gift, your friends are a gift, your provision is a gift, your life is a gift, today is a gift. So many times we don’t know the full worth of our gifts until they are taken away. Don’t wait for that to happen. See your gifts now, as what they really are, for their full worth, in their full weight. You have been gifted, don’t take it for granted.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

THE gift of God. God has given us many gifts, many great gifts, yet salvation is referred to here in Ephesians as the gift of God. Part of what makes a gift truly a gift is that you have been given it without doing something in return. God has given us the ultimate gift in true gift form for it is “not your own doing.” You did nothing to earn it. That’s why it’s called grace. It’s God’s favor by no merit of your own but simply, solely and truly His favor on your life to give you eternal life. At times in our faith we get glimpses of how more than great this gift is, yet so many times we forget. It becomes so familiar, so common, so obvious that it loses it’s weight in our lives. Ask God to remind you of His gift, THE gift of salvation. He did it for you. He gave you THE gift. Let that take your heart to joy and thanksgiving.