9.27- Better Than a Pinata

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 9.27-

 

Better Than a Pinata Ephesians 2:1-10 Keila Ochoa

There cannot be a Mexican party without a pinata – a carton or clay container filled with candies and treats. Children strike it with a stick and try to break it, hoping to enjoy its contents.

Monks used the pinatas in the sixteenth century to teach lessons to the indigenous people of Mexico. Pinatas were stars with seven points that represented the seven deadly sins. Beating the pinata showed the struggle against evil, and once the treats inside fell to the ground, people could take them home in remembrance of the rewards of keeping the faith.

But we cannot fight evil on our own. God is not waiting for our efforts so that He will show His mercy. Ephesians teaches that “by grace you have been saved through faith . . . it is the gift God” (2:8). We don’t beat sin; Christ has done that.

Children fight for the candies from the pinata, but God’s gifts come to all of us when we believe in Jesus. God “has blessed us . . . with every spiritual blessing” (Eph. 1:3). We have forgiveness of sins, redemption, adoption, new life, joy, love, and much more. We don’t get these spiritual blessings because we have kept the faith and are strong; we get them because we believe in Jesus. Spiritual blessing come only through grace – undeserved grace!

 

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