Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God

When I think of the awesome gift our God has given us, I feel like I won the lottery.  The fact that God loved us so much that He gave us someone to take the punishment we deserve through His Son is really so great a gift that I can hardly explain  it.  When I was new to my faith and relationship with Christ, I remember someone explaining the difference between grace and mercy in that mercy is not (as in the case of penalties for sin etc.) receiving that which we really deserve and that grace is receiving that which we really don’t deserve-it is a gift.  A gift that is so wonderful that it makes me want to get up every day and say thank you for my life, the gift of life and my relationship with You.  Thank you for saving me and for being my Lord and my Savior.  Thank You Jesus.