To my embarrassment, the grocery-bill total was greater than what my wallet contained.
Hoping no one noticed the exchange taking place, I quietly pointed out which items to remove from my grocery order, items we could live without until my next paycheck. Although this happened a few times several decades ago, I still recall it with a twinge of embarrassment and shame.
As I thought of what Jesus Christ did for us, this decades-old grocery exchange came to mind. Having insufficient funds to pay for bread, peanut butter, and a few boxes of mac and cheese is nothing compared to our inability to pay the staggering price to redeem our souls. A price so high and a debt so great that we are left entirely helpless and hopeless.
And yet God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
This giving of His Son is not a pretty pastel-colored spring scene. It is a blood-spattered, spit-dripping, whisker-pulled, muscles-contracting-and-torn scene of a great exchange. On that first Good Friday, the only begotten Son of God ransomed us with His life, paying the slave price for us. He exchanged His righteousness for our sin so that we can stand before God sinless. We add nothing but a grateful heart for what He has done.
Unlike my grocery bill which only caused embarrassment, us having insufficient funds to pay for our sin debt has eternal consequences. Either we pay the debt ourselves by an eternity separated from God, or we humbly reach out and take the gift offered on our behalf.
Ask God to help you grasp even a thin thread of what He has provided for you through the ransom paid those many years ago.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Becky White is a contributing author of Whispers of Wisdom for Single Mom's and Every Good and Perfect Gift, both published by Barbour Publishing. She also contributed to The Complete Guide to Christian Quotations, also by Barbour. Her first published work was a poem in a 2007 edition of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, Decision magazine. In addition, Becky has self-published an auto biography titled Come Forth as Gold, two devotionals: Shelter from the Storm and Stony Paths. Becky and her husband attend Rock City Church and serve together at Columbus Dream Center. Becky writes a weekly devotion for her blog, Devotions for Difficult Days. The Whites have a family of seven grown children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandson. They make their home in Columbus, Ohio. You can connect with Becky at www.DevotionsForDifficultDays.com.