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
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