"Accepting the Gift"

We seem to have great difficulty accepting the forgiveness of God. Some way, some how we want to pay for the gift of being forgiven. On the other side, I hear people speak of "Jesus paid it all!" That is true but in order for Jesus to pay it all, we need to appropriate it on His terms or there is no forgiveness.

When you look at those people in the New Testament that identified themselves with the Lord Jesus, they found complete forgiveness and His life by gladly receiving the good news and took His name on themselves. They didn't earn anything. The adulterous woman in John 8 found 100% forgiveness without earning it! The apostles were forgiven over and over, never trying to earn it from Jesus. When people tried to earn it, such as the ruler who wanted to know what he "could do" to inherit eternal life (Luke 18), they found themselves on the outside, left alone in their sins.

Forgiveness and the life of which forgiveness is a part cannot be bought or earned. Nothing we offer or do can pay any part of the ransom price! Jesus paid it all! It is true that we must become His followers or there is no forgiveness but our coming to Him is not meritorious! We have no merit. We come to Him because we can't handle our own sin problem. Our obedience to His word has no buying power, no covering power or no redeeming power. "Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." (I Pet. 1:18-19)

He was living on the streets and was looking through a window at store. He always wanted a ring to wear and each day he would come by the store just to look at his one particular ring. Across the street and man observed this poor, filthy man looking in the window each and every day at the same time. One day, this man who had observed this pauper walked over to him when he was looking at the ring and asked him what he did each day coming by and looking. The poor man said, "What a beautiful ring. I always wanted a ring like that to wear." The man asks the pauper, "Would you like to have it?" The poor man responded, "It is priceless and there is no way I have the means to buy it." The man responded, "You're right. But you can have it for nothing!" The impoverished man stated, "You don't understand. I have no money and can't possibly pay for it." The gentleman looked at this poor man right in the eyes and said, "YOU don't understand. It's already been paid for and I am offering it to you as a gift, free for your taking." The pauper searched his pockets and found three pennies. He thinks about giving the three pennies to this man but thought it might insult him, so he puts the pennies back into his pocket.

Either it is a gift that he will accept as a gift or he won't get any part of it! With his eyes shining and heart leaping full of amazement and wonder, he watches the man go in, purchase the ring, bringing it out and placing it in the poor man's hand. The poor man accepts it, not knowing what to say. Then the final words came out, "It must have cost you a lot." The man walks away and whispers, "It did indeed!"