Devotion: The Greatest Things In Life Are Free
Ephesians 5:15-20
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The best things in life, the saying goes, aren’t things. Instead, the best things are the intangible, incredible, enormous blessings of love and relationships. Chief among these is God’s amazing love for us.
We call God’s love “grace.” We don’t deserve it and can’t earn it. But God chose to give it to us in the person of Jesus, his son. Jesus died for our sins and rose again to new life. God wants that for us, too.
In this passage from Ephesians, the Apostle Paul encourages us to live as people who are wise – people who understand and accept God’s grace and want a relationship with him. Paul urges us to make the most of every opportunity – every chance we have to study God’s word, pray, give
thanks and serve him. We grow closer to God and nurture our relationship with him when we do these things, and we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
God also wants us to join with other Christians in worship, study, prayer, service and praise, so that we can encourage one another, love one another, support one another. In this way we are gifts for each other, gifts from God, the best things.
And when we give thanks to God for all he has done and for the gift of Jesus, we remind ourselves that we can trust him to walk with us in the future. In this way we live the life God wants for us – a life lived close to Him.
Dearest God, Thank you for your free and priceless gift of grace. Thank you for Jesus and for all the ways you love and care for me. Fill me with your Spirit so that I can praise you more and more. Amen.
Written by Cheryl Stubbendieck
Cheryl Stubbendieck is a member of Sheridan’s Devotion Writing Team. She and her husband Jim live near Sheridan. Their family includes their son Aaron and his wife Chaitra of San Francisco, CA and their son Reed of Madison, WI. Cheryl was the public relations department head for Nebraska Farm Bureau before retiring in 2012. She spent the next four years as the volunteer manager of Barnabas Community and now helps to manage the OneSent Market.