All By Grace

"By the grace of God you have been saved through faith. This has not come from you: it is God's gift. This was not the result of your works, so you are not to feel proud." - Ephesiahs 2:8-9

Our thoughts can really deceive us! I could be sitting in my car, watching people pass by, and judgments about those people start popping into my head. The more I read the bible, the more I learn how God hates when we judge others, and the worse I feel for doing it. I'm so quick to categorize people or deem something or someone ghetto when I really have no right to think these things about anyone… but sometimes, without me wanting to think them, they just pop into my head!

Today, I went to confession for this and the priest gave me really great direction. He told me that I need to use my imagination to see myself as miserable. He stressed that every single thing in my life has been given to me by the grace of God, a gift God gave me freely because He chose to, not that I ever deserved it. If I have graces that have allowed me to do good things in life, I can't be proud of them and look down at others for being bad because at any moment, God could take back the grace and I would fall flat on the floor in no time. Therefore, as a lesson for all of us, look at everything you have, even the things you like best about yourself, as this free gift from God which He gave freely and could take away freely when He pleases. Let's become humble so that we do away with pride and judgments, and live in recognition of what we really are, souls totally reliant on God's grace.

Today's Prayer:
Oh Jesus, open my eyes so I could see how I am really nothing and You are everything. If Your grace fails to shine on me like the sun, I would be destroyed, therefore, please don't let me ever be prideful of things that have nothing to do with me. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Lumineux: Letting God's Light Shine

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