Sometimes getting a notice that you’ve been selected for something is a “yah, right” moment. But at other times it’s exciting news.
There’s a company in the US that sells magazine subscriptions via sweepstakes and prize-based games. You get a LARGE envelope which says something like “Mandatory Notice to IMMINENT WINNER” that has official-looking stickers and bold red statements like “FINAL STEP REQUIRED.” They make it look for all the world like they just need to know where to deposit the first of your $9,000-a-week-for-life winnings. How foolish do you have to be to believe that? That’s one of those “yah, right” moments. You know what they say, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
Of course there ARE some envelopes that come in the mail with notices you cannot ignore. They really ARE legitimate. They have markings on the outside that let you know you’ve been selected for jury duty or some such thing. If the notice comes from the tax authority in your country, you could be about to find out that you owe a pretty hefty bill that you had NO IDEA was coming. That’s never fun.
Here’s a situation where you were actually chosen for something of real value !!! Yes, you.
Today’s verse is an important announcement …
YOU WERE CHOSEN TO BE FREE.
Now, you may think that you’re ALREADY free, and be tempted to slough off this news. But don’t be too hasty. Because all of us have significant debt hanging over our heads, and trust me when I tell you that you don’t want to be the one to pay it. It’s the bill that’s coming due for the price of your sin. Now I don’t know the due date, and neither do you; but it IS coming. So, I guess that’s the bad news. But, like the envelope from the tax authority, ignoring it won’t help. That approach changes nothing. Your “final debt” is still coming due sooner or later.
What DOES totally change the situation is the out-of-the-blue notice that you’ve been chosen to be set FREE. That’s the AMAZINGLY GOOD news. But Christ’s incredible gift covers more than just the “final debt” on the horizon. His gift sets you and me free from so much more. His gift is large enough to cover every need you have or will ever face with plenty to spare. It can “cover” fear, anger and doubt. Totally eliminate hatred and unforgiveness, those cancers that rot your life from the inside out. His gift replaces mourning with joy, heaviness of heart with a song of praise.
You’re better off than Moldovian journalism student Sergey Sudev. He’d forgotten all about an elderly German uncle he’d only met twice, and hadn’t seen him or had any contact in over a decade. He may have forgotten about his uncle, but his uncle never forgot him. When he passed away, the uncle left Sergey 950 million euros. He didn’t believe it initially. But when the official agents of the estate showed up with the certified check and placed it in his hand, it erased all doubt. THAT’s a gift large enough to cover every need he had or will ever face with plenty to spare.
But the gift God wants to put in your hand is better than his.
God Himself has chosen you, and made you an offer that sounds too good to be true. YOU WERE CHOSEN TO BE FREE. The gift is given, the inheritance is ours.
We who have already placed our faith in Christ have obtained an inheritance of massive value and great worth. We were chosen long ago according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of his will; even though we had no idea of His choice. We who have already placed our hope in Christ now use our inheritance to the praise of His glory.
But what if you haven’t placed your trust in Him yet? YOUR NAME is in His will, too! And if you respond as you hear the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believe in Him, you can claim the inheritance He has for you. You’ll be sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of your inheritance until we acquire possession of it.
Maybe some hurt or pain caused you to pull away from your relationship with your Heavenly Father. Perhaps its been a decade or more since you’ve been in contact. But He hasn’t forgotten you.
If we had more time I could tell you about the three homeless kids who inherited 4 billion dollars from a grandmother they had never met. Maybe you’ve never heard of God who loves you so much He’s left you an inheritance worth far more than mere money, whatever the amount.
The bottom line is this — whether you’ve walked away from your relationship with God or never had one before today … YOU WERE CHOSEN TO BE FREE. But there is a “FINAL STEP REQUIRED.”
Think of me as the official agent of the one who left you an inheritance. (Hey, I’m even in uniform!) You and I are sitting here together, and I’ve got the check with your name on it in my hand.
Do you want it?
