I love you because you exist

“For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”  (Ephesians 2:8 – 10)

As I write this scripture the words of the hymn is running through my head. “Not of works, not of works, not of works, lest any man should boooast. It is a gift of God.”  I don’t even remember the name of the song but the words have stayed with me my entire life.

It is unconditional love or Christ-like love and not what we do that saves us. He took up on him our sins not knowing that we would accept his gift or not, and yet unless he made this sacrifice we would all be lost and unable to return to Heaven.

My grandson often says to me, “How much do you love me?”  

When he says that I know I am about to be asked to do some favor for him. Usually I will ask, “So what is it you want me to do?” But sometimes I will tell him, “How much I love you has nothing to do with it. If you want money or something that is going to cost me money it depends on how much money you want, how soon you want it, and if I think it’s something I want to spend money on. If you want me to drive you somewhere it depends on if you have parental permission, and if I have the time to spare. It has nothing to do with how much I love you. I love you because you are – because you exist. Nothing is going to change that. I might get upset. I might even yell at you, but I will always love you no matter what.”   

And so it is with Christ.