Brianna flopped onto the couch, exhausted. Her roommate, Megan, glanced up from her phone. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m just wiped.”

Megan raised her eyebrows. “Of course you are. You work two jobs, and when you’re not at work, you’re at church.”

“That’s not true. I’m only at church twice a week. They need people to help with the children’s program.”

“Someone else could do it. You work too hard.”

Brianna frowned. Megan didn’t understand. “No, I’m supposed to do stuff like that for God. Just like I’m supposed to read my Bible in the morning.”

“But you’re so tired all the time. You don’t have any time for fun.”

“That’s because of work. My student loans are enormous. I don’t make enough at my job, so I need to pick up the extra shifts at the restaurant. Eventually, I’ll earn enough to pay back the loans, and then I’ll be able to relax a little.”

“If you don’t kill yourself first.” Megan stood and moved toward the hall. She shrugged. “It just doesn’t seem like much of a life, if you ask me.”

Brianna bristled. Who was Megan to judge her? Nothing was free in this life. She went to college, so now she needed to pay for it. And being a Christian meant she had to do things for God. She was simply doing her duty. She rose from the couch and made her way to her bedroom, passing Megan without another word. After closing the door to her room, she scrolled through her email. An unfamiliar name popped up. She perched on the end of her bed and opened the message.

Ms. Lawson,

My name is Elender Banks. I am settling the estate of your great-aunt, Florence. Please contact me at your earliest convenience.

There was more to the message, but Brianna couldn’t get past the first part. Her aunt Florence? She must have passed away. Since Brianna’s parents died, she’d lost touch with her extended family. Aunt Florence was a lovely woman with long white hair, a house full of interesting antiques, and an adorable dog. It had been years since she’d seen her. Those had been the simpler times. Times when she had a mom and a dad to look after everything. Maybe if they were still around, she wouldn’t have so much debt.

Oh, no. Hopefully Aunt Florence didn’t have a bunch of debt that would now pass to Brianna. Her heart raced. What should she do? Should she contact this man? All he had was her email. Maybe it would be OK to respond and find out what he wanted.

~*~

A week later, after a long shift at the restaurant, Brianna pushed open the apartment door to find Megan at the kitchen table with her laptop. Megan glanced up at Brianna’s approach. She’d been kind to Brianna since their disagreement the previous week, but they hadn’t talked much.

“How was your day?”

Brianna shrugged out of her jacket and settled onto the stool next to Megan. “You won’t believe this.”

Megan closed the laptop cover and turned to face her. “Tell me.”

“My great-aunt died and left everything to me.”
           

Megan’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m sorry for your loss. Were you close?”

Brianna shook her head. “No. I hadn’t seen her in years. But she never married or had children, so I’m the closest family she had left. She sold her house and was living in a care facility, but she still had just under $300 thousand in the bank.”

Megan’s jaw dropped open. “That’s amazing! You can pay off all your student loans and quit your second job.”

Brianna’s stomach twisted. “I guess.”

“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t you?”

“Because I didn’t earn it. I don’t deserve it.”

“She chose to give it to you. It doesn’t matter that you didn’t earn it. You can take it in the spirit it was given and live your life. If you choose to give some to charity, that’s up to you.”

Brianna’s stomach relaxed a fraction. “Do you really think it’s OK to do that?”

“Of course. You may not have earned it, but it’s a gift for you to accept.”

An enormous weight lifted off Brianna’s shoulders. “This is such a relief.”

Megan bit her bottom lip. “Can I tell you something?”

Brianna blinked. “Yes…”

“You don’t deserve what God did for you, either, and you can’t earn it.”

Brianna pushed back on her stool. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Megan folded her hands in her lap. “Jesus paid the price for your sins when he died on the cross. There’s nothing you can do to earn that or deserve that. But I see you reading your Bible and helping the kids with an attitude like it’s your duty. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but your salvation is a gift to be accepted. It’s great to do all those things for God, but you don’t have to work for it. You got the money from your aunt simply because you are her heir. The same thing is true with God. You are His child and He wants to bless you. Sure, it’s great you want to serve Him, but do it because you want to, not because you feel you have to earn your way into heaven.”

Brianna stared at Megan. Suddenly, everything made sense. Peace washed over her as she absorbed Megan’s words. Free. She was free. A child of God, an heir to heaven. Not because she had to work for it. She rose from her stool and hugged Megan.

~*~

Two weeks later, Brianna once again entered the apartment. Megan exited the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her hair. Megan stopped and studied Brianna’s face. “You were at church tonight?”

Brianna beamed. “Yes.”

“You look different. You’re kind of glowing.”

Brianna couldn’t help laughing. “Well, part of it is because yesterday was my last shift at the restaurant, but mostly, it’s because of our conversation.”

“Oh?”

“I’m still helping with the kids program at church, but not because I have to. It’s because I want to. And that makes all the difference.”

Titus 3: 5-7

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Dear Lord, thank You for the amazing gift of salvation. Please help us remember it is a gift. There’s nothing we can do that will make You love us more, and perhaps even more amazingly, there is nothing we can do that will make You love us less! Help us serve You and others in the spirit of love, not as a sense of duty. And thank You for calling us Your children. In Jesus’ name, Amen.