If a child you don’t know appears on your doorstep and asks to spend the night, what would you do? Likely you would ask his name, where he lives, find out why he is roaming the streets, and contact his parents. On the other hand, if a youngster enters your house escorted by your child, that child is welcome.

The same is true with God. By becoming friends with the Son, we gain access to the Father. Jesus promised in Matthew 10:32, “All those who stand before others and say they believe in me, I will say before my Father in heaven that they belong to me.” Jesus ushers us into that blessing of God’s grace we now enjoy and what Paul spoke of in Romans 5:2—”a permanent access by faith into this grace by which we now stand.” We can have a place with God because Jesus has presented us to the Father!

From In the Grip of Grace