Appreciation
Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal
life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (NLT)
We own a small holiday trailer that we keep in our driveway during the spring
and summer months. That way, it is handy to hook onto and use whenever we choose
to do so. Once fall comes, though, we don't want the trailer sitting in the
driveway all winter. We looked at options of what we could do with it. Some cost
a few hundred dollars a month; some weren't very secure. Then we thought of our
daughter who lives on an acreage a few miles out of town. We asked her if we
could store our holiday trailer there for the winter months. She was more than
willing to let us park it there, at no charge. What a gift to us -- a free gift.
Because they are storing it in their yard, we like to help them whenever we can.
We take care of their children when needed; we help feed their horses when we
are there; we help paint walls; or we help put bookshelves together. They don't
expect us to do any of this. But they have given us a gift. And we want to show
them our appreciation.
God's gift to us is free -- the gift of salvation. It doesn't cost us anything,
and we can't earn it or deserve it. All we have to do is accept it as ours.
Jesus Christ has paid the price. And yet, we do want to show Him our
appreciation for that unspeakable gift as well.
2 Corinthians 9:15 - Thank God for this gift, his gift. No language can praise
it enough! (MSG)
Philippians 2:12b - Work hard to show the results of your salvation. (NLT)
Here is a thought-provoking question: How can we show the Lord Jesus Christ that
we appreciate His gift to us? We can serve others -- in our family, in our
church, in our neighbourhood. Our place of employment can be a place of service
to our Lord. We can intentionally volunteer in a place where help is needed. We
can be pleasant and kind in our dealings at the stores, in the malls, on the
street. We can pass on the good news of God's free gift to others. In whatever
we do, we can show love.
Galatians 5:13 - It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life.
Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you
want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one
another in love; that's how freedom grows. (MSG)
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You so much for the gift of eternal life that You
offer to us. All we have to do is accept it. Help us to see the huge price that
You did pay, and out of appreciation for that gift, help us to serve You in so
many different areas. Those ways are different for each of us, but all of us can
love others. Please help us. Amen.
Judy Miller gjmiller@telusplanet.net
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
Thanks to http://daily.presbycan.ca