July 15 | Ephesians 2:8-10

Kim Starr
Jul 15, 2025
2 min read

DAILY READING

REFLECTION

Grace

By Kim Starr

Like many of you, this is not the only devotional I read every day. One of the others is by Matthew Kelly of Dynamic Catholic. His suggestion, when reading a Bible passage, is to look for a word, phrase, or idea that jumps out at you. When I read today’s passage, the word that jumped out at me was grace.

Grace is God’s love, mercy, and benevolence to the unworthy. Grace is an essential part of God’s character and he extends his grace to us by forgiving us and blessing us even though we don’t deserve it. Grace is what saves us. It not only gives us victory over sin, but it also gives us encouragement and hope. Grace is a gift from God.

When someone gives you a gift, you owe them nothing in return. The gift is free to you, unlike the giver who bears the cost of the gift. Once the gift is given, it is ours to keep; the giver voluntarily and permanently hands over all his rights to take the gift back in the future. Even if the gift is for an occasion like a birthday or Christmas, the gift is completely unmerited. No one is required to give you a gift and our receiving it has nothing to do with our worthiness or character.

God’s grace for us doesn’t stop. It continues for the rest of our lives while God works in us and through us. Grace comforts, encourages, preserves, and strengthens us. His grace is more abundant than we expect and is too wonderful for words to even be able to describe it. As the recipients of God’s grace, we are to be gracious to others.

God’s grace is abundant throughout the pages of scripture. (To see specific instances of God’s grace throughout the Bible, see Bob Bunn's article, "Grace in the Bible.") Looking at these examples enables us to see how people just like you and me experienced God’s grace in powerful ways. These examples of God’s grace give us inspiration and guidance when God’s people face challenges from being His believers. God’s grace started with Adam and Eve when he forgave them for eating the forbidden fruit and provided them clothing to wear. God’s greatest gift of grace is found in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. God’s grace gives us a purpose for our lives and gives us hope for eternity.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for your gift of grace. Thank you for giving us something that we don’t deserve that is so powerful and encouraging. We are in awe of this incredible gift. Help us to value and appreciate it, and to realize that your grace is unending. Help us be gracious to others as you are gracious to us. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KIM STARR

I have been a member of UALC since I was 2-years-old. Over my life I have participated in, and volunteered for, numerous ministries, programs, and activities, all of which have grown and strengthened my faith. I have been blessed beyond measure by not only being a part of this congregation, but also by being able to worship with three generations of my family.