Just paid my monthly balance for my American Express Delta Sky Miles Credit Card... ouch... You all know what I mean. Bills are never fun to pay. But as I was clicking the submit button for the payment a thought came to mind...
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's what the Bible says in Romans 6:23, but sometimes our reality of that scripture is not the same reality that it depicts. You see a gift is of no cost to the recipient. All one must do to receive a gift is to accept it. Many of us like receiving gifts especially one given from the heart of the giver; a gift given in love or from the heart of the giver is always the best gift. The giver knows the sacrifice that they have to take to give such gifts, but very rarely does the recipient understand to what depth of sacrifice the gift is given. Thus the dilemma.
Imagine getting (as a giver) a one of a kind gift that is nonrefundable and nonexchangeable. It's the perfect gift, one that you know for a fact that this person needs; as you go to deliver your gift, you arrive at the soon to be recipient's home to find no one there. You leave the gift on the doorstep with a note telling them who the gift is from. Maybe not everyone would expect a phone call or letter in the mail within the week, but let's say we are this time, and let's pretend like that phone call/ letter never happens. We get to wondering what became of our special gift. We return to the house to find it opened and sitting outside in the elements which will ruin it. We return home hurt because of the way our gift was received (rejected could be a better word). We try the subtle way of calling the recipient to see if they received our gift, which they kind of dance around the question with a "yeah I saw it" answer.
Think of how God feels. He gave His very best gift. Parent's you can relate to this, He gave His one and only Son. He did this knowing that people would reject his gift. A sacrificial gift, one given from the very heart of the Creator of all the universe. He did this for one reason, His love for us. His love has no boundaries because He has already crossed them all, laying down His very deity and flesh for us. All we have to do is except His gift.
How many will still say, "Yeah I saw it. I know about it" and still not except it? It's hard to believe the best Gift ever given was gift wrapped in rags, but would it have been more acceptable if the Gift would have been wrapped with silk? Regardless we all have a debt to pay it's our choice if we want to accept that our debt has been paid, keep living like there is no debt to pay, or keep putting it off to pay later. One day the Collector will come, will you be able to show Him your debt has been paid and enjoy eternal life or will you have to take the punishment for your debt which is death. Do you love your family and friends enough to tell them about this Gift?
