I have never been a fan of musicals. I watched High School Musical back in the day because everyone else did (yes…I’ve watched it since), but that was about it. But there was one musical that came out in the past couple years that I watched and loved.

I love it so much I listen to the soundtrack on Spotify.

That musical is The Greatest Showman.

I’m not even ashamed. I love that musical. The acting, the music, the voices, and the message are all extraordinary. There’s a reason it was, and still is, so popular. And there’s one song in particular that I really enjoy—“Never Enough.”

Perhaps this is the moment you make fun of me, I don’t mind. But there’s a reason why I’m bringing this up.

It’s a great picture of how man’s works will never be enough to merit God’s favor. No amount of good works will gain God’s grace. Why is that? Because humans are inherently sinful—even our good works are tainted by sin. “We are not sinners because we sin,” the late R.C. Sproul observed. “We sin because we’re sinners.”

Before Christ, sin was as natural as breathing. We couldn’t not sin. That is why our good works—no matter how good they were from an earthly perspective—were never enough to obtain salvation. That is why salvation is a gift of God.

If God has saved you, He didn’t do so because you measured up or figured life out. He didn’t save you because you were smart enough, brave enough, or sly enough. He saved you because He chose to save you—by His sovereign grace (Eph. 2:8-9).