Let’s pretend for a moment that I called you up and told you that I had this friend that wanted to give you a gift. He had given me the same gift and it was wonderful! The best gift I had ever been given. I explained to you what the gift was and that my friend wanted to give you one as well. “He’s just a swell guy like that!” I exclaimed. You don’t have to do anything except receive the gift from my friend when he comes to your house. It’s free to you, no strings attached.
Now, let’s pretend that my friend came to your house today. He walked up to your door, present in hand, and gently knocked. All you had to do at this point was open the door and receive it from him. But, for whatever reason, you chose not to open the door. You just sat on your couch and contemplated the situation. “I didn’t ask for this,” you think. You wonder why I would assume you would even want such a gift. “I mean, that’s wonderful she likes it, but not everybody wants one.”
You hear him knock again, a gentle wrap on your door. Still, you sit on your couch and continue to contemplate. ”There are others who can give me such a gift if I really wanted it. Why she thinks he’s the only one is beyond me. And why she thinks I need it is rather judgmental of her.”
He knocks again. For a moment you think, “But what if I really do need it. What if he is the only one who can give it to me? What if the others are liars? What if he’s the liar? What if it’s not free, like she said it is?”
You hear the knocking again, this time my friend calls out your name in a tone just above a whisper, “Hello, are you home? I am here with your gift,” he says.
“I suppose I could just earn one for myself. Or better yet, work really hard and buy one. I mean, I’m a good person, there’s no reason my hard work wouldn’t pay off and earn me one in the end.”
The gentle knocking continues and the man on the other side of the door calls out desperately, “Please! Please open your door and let me in. I have a gift for you!”
You answer with a question, “Why have you chosen to give me this gift?”
“Because I love you.”
You feel irritated, “Oh yeah?! Well, why didn’t you give my loved one this gift? They could’ve used it more than me and now they are dead!”
You hear another wrap on your door. “I loved them too. I didn’t want for them to die that way.”
Now angry with my friend who just simply wanted to bless you with his gift, you yell out, “Your gift is useless to me.”
He knocks again, this time with a warning, “I understand you feel angry and you are hurt. But time is running out. I need to give you this gift today. Please!”
“I do not want your gift today. Come back tomorrow, perhaps I’ll change my mind.”
The knocking stops.
Tomorrow never comes…
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
In His Service,
Rebecca Hamilton, Founder/ Executive Director
For Every Great Battle, There is a Great Victory!!