Faith is not born at the negotiating table where we barter our gifts
in exchange for God’s goodness.
Faith is not an award given to the most learned.
It’s not a prize given to the most disciplined.
It’s not a title bequeathed to the most religious.

Faith is a desperate dive out of the sinking boat of human effort
and a prayer that God will be there to pull us out of the water.
The apostle Paul wrote about this kind of faith :

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith ---
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God ---
not by works, so no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9)

The supreme force in salvation is God’s grace.