From My Mother's Heart: The Gift of Salvation

It was a simple thing. We took a pie to the people across the street. Neighbors do things like that. But a while later as I was working in my yard, the little girl from that house came to me and reached out her hand to me. “Here,” she said. I looked up to see some folded bills in her hand.

“What’s that for?” I asked.

“It’s for the pie.” She responded. I assured her that I was not selling the pie to her family, that the pie was a gift. But she said her dad insisted on paying for it. We went round and round, and finally she jammed the money into my hand, and I knew that if I didn’t take it, I would be insulting her father. My heart sank. What was supposed to be a gift became merchandise. Rather than blessing this family, I became a peddler to them.

Then it hit me. How must God feel? He sent His Son as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He freely offers us salvation, a home in heaven. The Bible tells us it is a gift. And what do we do? We try to pull out our wallets and pay for His free gift. Oh, it may not be with money, but we try to pay for a home in heaven by doing good things. By being nice to our neighbors, by going to church. You name it. Nobody really wants to go to hell, and many of us try to come up with our own way to pay for our sins so we don’t have to go there.

I don’t know why it was that my neighbor wanted to pay for the pie. Maybe it was pride. After all, he was not a charity case, and he could pay for the food his family ate. Sometimes people get so proud they think they have a better plan of making it to heaven than God has. But until we accept His free gift, we simply can not make it. That is the only way for anyone to get to heaven.

I have met people who say they pray everyday for God to save them. You are not saved by repeating prayers over and over. That can become your way of doing it yourself. You can not save yourself. What would you do that would be enough? How would you know when you had done enough? How then can you be saved, and sure that you are on your way to heaven when you die?

Realize you are a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23.

Realize there is a penalty for your sins and that God wants to give you the gift of salvation. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” Romans 6:23.

Realize that you do not need to do anything to clean up your act for God. He wants you to come to Him just as you are. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

Do what I wanted my neighbor to do with the pie. Just reach out and accept it as a gift.

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” Romans 10:13. We accept God’s free gift of salvation by calling out to Him in prayer, believing He alone can save us, thus, accepting His free gift.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

If you believe that you have ever sinned, that you can not save yourself, and that Jesus has paid for your sins on the cross of Calvery, as the Bible says, pray a simple prayer like this:

“Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you for paying for my sins on the cross with your shed blood. Thank you for proving you have power over death and hell by your raising yourself from the dead. I accept your free gift of salvation. Please come into my heart and life and save me today. Thank you, Jesus! Amen.”

Mere words do not save you, but remember Romans 10:13. It says “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” God can not lie. His Word is true. Accept His free gift today, and then you can know for sure that you will spend all eternity with Him in a wonderful place called Heaven!

Does that seem too easy? Consider this verse. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” 2 Peter 3:9. God did all the work, all we have to do is believe Him and accept Him. Won’t you trust Him today?

~By Mrs. H