I read a great story the other day about a grandma who was
having difficulty paying her electric, cable, and phone bill. I would have to
imagine that her financial situation was in complete disarray with no hope of
tomorrow making it better. Several months earlier, she’d purchased a lottery
ticket and put it in her glove box. As you may know, winners only have so long
to claim their prize. As time neared the end, grandma cleaned out her glove box
and found her ticket; it was worth $28 million.
Stories like this are heartwarming and a little enticing to
go buy a lottery ticket. The fact is grandma’s destructive financial problems
need not have been. Her answer rested beside her day after day, for months. Her
reprieve from agony as she went to sleep in fear of what tomorrow would bring
was only a memory away. Her rescue from financial ruin was often inches from
her grasp; all she had to do was recognize its existence, take ahold of it, and
accept the gift that awaited her.
While I could expound on the futility of wealth and how this
does not solve her eternal issues, that is not the point. Christ has given us a
gift. We didn’t even have to spend a dollar; it’s free because He has
accomplished the task. Many live their entire life a breath, a thought, or a doubt
away from receiving the greatest gift humankind has ever received. They slip in
to the other side never opening their proverbial glove box and miss out on what
could have been.
When I hear the incredible voice of Adele sing, “We Could
Have Had It All”, I can’t help but imagine Jesus saying the chorus of that song
to those who never accepted their gift of eternal life. We could have had it
all, running in the deep, you had My heart inside your hand and you played it
to the beat. Throw your soul through every open door. Count your blessings to
find what you look for. Turn My sorrow into treasured gold. You pay Me back in
kind and reap just what you sow.
The gift of grace, mercy, and salvation are waiting for you
to open your heart, see Jesus for what and Who He is, and accept His completed
work. He did it for you. He did it for me. Sadly, many will never cash in their
untold wealth; instead, they settle for the dirt we stand on, the dust we breathe
in, and the mud from which He made us. You could have it all.
