October's Verse
06/10/09 10:11 Filed in: Bible
(By Jonny McCollum, working with New Life Fellowship)
Perhaps you’re familiar with the following scene – you invite some friends around for a meal, or allow a relative to stay the night while they’re in the area. Just before they leave they produce a gift; a box of chocolates, or a bottle of wine. And what do you say? If you’re anything like my parents you’ll probably instinctively say, “You shouldn’t have”.
What do my parents mean when they say that to guests? I suppose they mean, “We haven’t gone to a lot of trouble, we really don’t deserve this gift.” Yet I’ve never seen them give the gift back or refuse to take it. The whole “You shouldn’t have” line is something of a charade – a polite thing to say, but not strictly meant. They may say they don’t deserve a gift, but often they do. In some way, they’ve earned it.
The verse on the calendar this month tells us about a gift:
“The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
What a gift! Far better than a tin of Quality Street or a bunch of flowers! God’s gift to us is life that never ends. More than that, it’s life that’s perfect – life that’s free from pain, boredom or sadness.
Unlike some other gifts, this is a gift we really don’t deserve. We’ve done nothing to earn this gift. In fact, the sentence immediately before this one in the bible says:
“The wages of sin is death”
We don’t earn this wonderful gift by being religious or doing good deeds. No matter how hard we try, we all sin. The only thing we earn by trying hard is death, because none of us are good enough to please God.
And yet God has given us a gift. But how do we get this gift? Through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ experienced death so we can have life. Jesus Christ was punished so we don’t have to be. If we ask God for His gift then He will give it to us, because Jesus Christ has received the wages His people have earned.
Like all the best gifts, this one comes with no strings attached. There’s no small print. If we ask, God will give. And nothing can take it away again.
Perhaps you’re familiar with the following scene – you invite some friends around for a meal, or allow a relative to stay the night while they’re in the area. Just before they leave they produce a gift; a box of chocolates, or a bottle of wine. And what do you say? If you’re anything like my parents you’ll probably instinctively say, “You shouldn’t have”.
What do my parents mean when they say that to guests? I suppose they mean, “We haven’t gone to a lot of trouble, we really don’t deserve this gift.” Yet I’ve never seen them give the gift back or refuse to take it. The whole “You shouldn’t have” line is something of a charade – a polite thing to say, but not strictly meant. They may say they don’t deserve a gift, but often they do. In some way, they’ve earned it.
The verse on the calendar this month tells us about a gift:
“The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
What a gift! Far better than a tin of Quality Street or a bunch of flowers! God’s gift to us is life that never ends. More than that, it’s life that’s perfect – life that’s free from pain, boredom or sadness.
Unlike some other gifts, this is a gift we really don’t deserve. We’ve done nothing to earn this gift. In fact, the sentence immediately before this one in the bible says:
“The wages of sin is death”
We don’t earn this wonderful gift by being religious or doing good deeds. No matter how hard we try, we all sin. The only thing we earn by trying hard is death, because none of us are good enough to please God.
And yet God has given us a gift. But how do we get this gift? Through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ experienced death so we can have life. Jesus Christ was punished so we don’t have to be. If we ask God for His gift then He will give it to us, because Jesus Christ has received the wages His people have earned.
Like all the best gifts, this one comes with no strings attached. There’s no small print. If we ask, God will give. And nothing can take it away again.