Your Paycheck {Why You Might Not Want This One}

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life

 in Christ Jesus our Lord."

~Romans 6:23

Powerful and humbling. Think of this: We all sin. 
Sin's paycheck is death. 
(This isn't looking so good..) 
If the payment for sin is death, and we've all sinned, then the only thing that we all deserve is death. But, that word "but" changes everything. The gift, the GIFT, of God is eternal life. He gives the gift of salvation freely to anyone who will open hands and heart and humbly give thanks for the precious gift we obviously do not deserve.

I wonder to myself, Can it really be that simple? Is God that good that He would really just give eternal life to anyone? And I know that the answer is YES! YES! YES! 

Yes, He is and yes, He does. Since He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith, He can cancel sin's paycheck, our paycheck, of death- and give us gifts!

The best gift of all? 
The One and Only God gave 
His One and Only Son, the most valuable of all gifts. 

I open hands and heart and utter a quiet "Yes." 
Yes, I am a sinner, dirty, deserving of only one thing. But, there's that word again, BUT, He gives His Son on that cross- the one I deserve to die on- and He takes my place. He gets thorns into his scalp and whips on his back and nails hammered through his hands and feet. He gets spit in his face and mocked and beaten and betrayed and killed- death- for me. In my place. And I'll never be able to earn eternal life, but I can open these hands and heart, not to be pierced with the nails and betrayal, but to receive this gift of salvation. His love- the deepest, widest, highest, wildest, most wonderful love of all.

I'm the one who should be locked in prison, burning forever, but His great gift saves me and cancels that paycheck. He offers me freedom. I'm so thankful for that gift and all gifts that my Father gives. I will not just give thanks, but live thanks. I will live thanks to God who didn't "withhold His own Son" from me (Romans 8:32).

How could I ever tire of this thanksliving...


Feel free to comment below and express your thanks to Him, who gave His very Son.. for you!