Contemplative Bible Reading

Romans 4:4-5 (New Living Translation)

4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. 5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.

There is a big difference between a gift and a contract. It is unfortunate that most of us confuse the two. We give “gifts,” but then state conditions of how the gift is to be used and such.

• “I’m paying your college tuition, BUT I expect you to…”
• “Here is a new camera, that you can use to…”
• “Here is some money that you can spend on…”

I think the confusion we have with gifts and contracts leads to confusion when we read parts of the Bible like that shown above. We are counted as righteous by God as a G I F T, not as a contract.

God, help me to understand and apply this daily.