Paul dismantles every human attempt to earn salvation. It comes by grace—unearned and undeserved—through faith, not through our own striving or good works. God’s plan leaves no room for boasting, because salvation belongs entirely to Him. This truth opens the door for every sinner, every struggler, every soul who has nothing to offer but need.

Mel Trotter was one such man. Once a hopeless alcoholic, he lost job after job and often sold his family’s possessions to buy drink. After his little daughter died—her funeral he attended in a drunken haze—Trotter’s despair reached its lowest point. Ready to end his life, he wandered the cold streets of Chicago in 1897 and stumbled into the Pacific Garden Mission. There he heard a simple message: “Christ died for sinners, even for you.” Something broke inside him. For the first time, he believed that grace meant God could save him exactly as he was. That night he knelt and surrendered his shattered life to Christ. From that moment, he never drank again. In time he became a preacher and founded dozens of rescue missions across America, helping thousands find freedom in the same grace that had lifted him from despair.

Mel’s story testifies that God’s grace meets us where we are, not where we think we should be. It redeems before it reforms, saving first and sanctifying afterward. No amount of effort can earn what only faith can receive. When we stop striving to prove ourselves and simply believe, grace does what willpower never could—it makes us new.

Prayer: God of grace, thank You that our salvation is Your gift, not our achievement. Deliver us from pride and self-reliance, and help us to live in gratitude and humility, rejoicing in Your unearned mercy every day. Amen.