“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV).

I was walking through the nurses’ station and one of our LPNs asked me, “How are you doing?” I answered habitually, as many people do, “Better than I deserve.” He replied, “If you say so, I believe you.” That got me thinking.

It was said of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “He believed what he thought, and he lived what he believed.”

Oswald Chambers said, “Believe what you do believe and stick to it, but don’t profess to believe more than you intend to stick to.”

Do I really believe that I am living better than I deserve? Do I really stick to my belief in grace? Do I really live my life grounded in grace instead of merit?

In the working out of this world, merit is important in choosing people for jobs and responsibilities. When I, for myself, seek to rise to different levels of accomplishment or recognition, I want to do so based on skills and effort, not on favor due to personal connections or visible features. Systems in this world work better that way. When I earn a position or reputation, I feel better about it than if I am handed it for reasons other than merit.

This idea of merit in the marketplace is so deeply imbedded in me that I sometimes carry it into my relationship with God. However, my relationship with the Father is based on grace, not merit. Do I Iive what I believe? Did I believe what I spoke to that LPN? God draws me to Himself and keeps me there, regardless of my inadequacies and poor performance. The grace that saved me when I was seven years old is the same grace that lays across my shoulders with every decision I make. I fail, and He loves me still.

If I really believe the statement I spoke, how then should I live?

A life of in constant gratitude, as I:

1. Pour myself out to please the One whose sacrifice brought me grace.
2. Share the opportunity of that grace with those who have not known it.
3. Let God’s grace flow through me to those who fail to meet my expectations, whether they be family, strangers, friends, colleagues or employees.

I am certainly doing better than I deserve. I need to live what I believe.

Dear God,

I owe it all to you. Let me live like it.

Amen