Free Gift Refused Scripture Reading: Micah 6:1-8 God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Eph. 2:8,9 NLT) Have you ever tried to give something away free and it was refused? My wife and I held yard sales in a neighborhood parking lot for three weekends to raise money for a mission trip to Peru with Wycliffe Associates Kids-Zone children’s ministry. Near the end of the third weekend only a few choice items were left. I noticed one man in particular who came back several times to look at a Weber barbecue kettle. He seemed interested, but didn’t want to pay the ten dollar price. When I saw him walking away I called him back and said, “Look, if you want the kettle and don’t have the money I will give it to you as a free gift because I don’t want to have to cart it back home.” He refused to take it as a free gift and said, “I’ll give you five dollars for it.” After some discussion, we compromised. I took his money and he left with the kettle. This reminds me of the times that we want to barter with God. We want to make a deal. God offers us the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, but we refuse insisting that we have to pay something, or do some kind of work before we can receive it. If you come up to someone on the street and ask him if he wants to receive a free gift, he’ll most likely say, “What do I have to do?” It is ingrained in the human psyche that we have to do something to get something, and when someone offers us something that is free we are suspicious. Our first thought is, “What’s the catch?” This may be true in the human scope of events, but it isn’t true with God. If man could only understand that the price for the free gift has already been paid by Jesus Christ when he sacrificed his life on the cross of Calvary. All that is left to do is believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ and the gift of salvation is ours. What can we give in exchange for God’s free gift of salvation? NOTHING! God doesn’t want or require our works or service as payment. As we said above, that’s been taken care of in Jesus Christ. What does he want? God wants a relationship with all those who were created in his image. He wants our fellowship. He wants you and me for himself. Jesus bought us out of the marketplace of sin through the shedding of his priceless blood and now we belong to him. I love the words of that old hymn, “Now I belong to Jesus and Jesus belongs to me.” Let me ask you this simple question: Do you belong to Jesus? Have you accepted him as personal savior? Prayer: Dear Lord, you came to this earth to seek and save the lost. That includes all of us.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 11:56:48 +0000
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