Read 1 Peter 1:13

Imagine coming to the house of a friend who has invited you over to enjoy a meal. You finish the delicious meal and then listen to some fine music and visit for a while. Finally, you stand up and get your coat as you prepare to leave.

But before you leave you reach into your pocket and say, "Now, how much do I owe you?" What an insult! You don't do that with someone who has graciously given you a meal.

Isn't it strange, though, how this world is running over with people who think there's something they must do to pay God back?

Somehow they are hoping God will smile on them if they work real hard and earn His acceptance. But that's an acceptance on the basis of works. That's not the way it is with grace....

God smiles on us because of His Son's death and resurrection. It's grace, my friend, amazing grace.

Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Wisdom for the Way (Nashville: J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2001). Copyright © 2001 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.