Salvation is the free gift of God.
There is no one who could entertain the notion of having earned salvation.
On the contrary, you thankfully acknowledge how much must have been forgiven, for you to be saved.
You are just a creature of God, corporeally and spiritually, and you are happy to be such.
You are a guest at the table of the Great and Wealthy Lord to whom you have given nothing, to whom in heaven also you can give nothing.
To be happy is to serve.
As long as you live on earth, you think that you know yourself and are aware of your weak points, but it would be very salutary for you if you could—for a moment—behold yourself and your life in the light of eternity—or even of somnambulism.
All the sins of your past life stand before you without palliation just as they were—with all their evil consequences and in their unfortunate concatenation with the sins of others.
Thanks and praise be to God that this contemplation contributes to your knowledge of the wisdom and mercy of God who did not suffer many of these weeds to grow and knew how to repair much that you had done amiss.
You see there a host of inconsiderate or unkind words. The one saying—What do I care? stands before your soul. You see the host of sinful inclinations and desires. You see a number of sins of omission.
You will readily understand why I have told you this, for everyone has his account book and it is during the period of your earthly life that it gets filled.
African emerald cuckoo (Chrysococcyx cupreus) male, Kakum National Park, Ghana | Charles J. Sharp | CC BY-SA 4.0
