Hello ,

A parable:

Imagine an old general store in the town where you live.  You know, the kind of place that has an older gentleman in a white apron and handlebar mustache who tends the counters.  He's the proprietor, and knows everyone by name.  He speaks kindly to anyone that walks through the doors of his store, and he's known you since you were a kid.  

Remember when you were 7 or 8 years old, how it always took you at least ten minutes to make your selections from the penny candy counter?  He was always patient with you while you were mulling over whether you should choose one chocolate coin covered in gold foil wrap, or three red Swedish Fish.  With only a penny in your pocket, it wasalways a difficult decision for you to make.  He would softly chuckle when you finally made up your mind, and would hand you that little brown paper candy sack.  It made you feel important to carry your purchases out, and you'd smile as you left the store.

Now that you're an adult, you don't spend much time at the penny candy counter,  but you do shop there frequently for groceries, for a bottle of furniture polish, or for a shoelace to replace the one that broke in your dress shoes when you least expected it.This store is the kind of place that always seems to have whatever you need, and you like to patronize it because the owner is your friend.  Stores such as his are a "dying breed," and you would like to see it stay around for a good, long while. 

Your struggles begin.

One day, the boss calls you into the office to let you know that the company that you work for is laying employees off.  He shares the bad news with you, that your job is one of those that has been cut, and informs you that, effective immediately...you don't work there anymore. You collect you things, say good-bye to your fellow employees, and make your way home feeling dejected.  You inform your spouse that you're been let go, and you both discuss what you're going to do.  How will you make ends meet with so many bills to take care of?  Where will the money come from if you don't get another job...and soon?  You begin to search in earnest for more work, but after looking for several days you come up empty.  No one is hiring, and your bank account is almost tapped.  

This is getting serious!

A few days later, you look in your refrigerator and notice that there are a few grocery items that your family is going to be needing.  You're low on cash, but you make your way to the general store to talk with the proprietor.  You explain your situation to him, and he smiles.  He tells you that he is going to open an account for you at the store. You can charge your grocery items on the account, and pay him at another time. Grateful for his kindness, you carefully make your selections, put them on your charge account, and return home.

Three months goes by without work, and now, after going multiple times to the general store and putting items on the charge account, you have amassed a bill of over $2500. The old proprietor doesn't seem as happy to see you anymore.  You've encountered several times when you didn't even want to go into the old place because you knew he dreaded seeing you walk through the door.  You long for the day when life was simpler; when making a decision between chocolate coins and Swedish Fish was the only struggle that you had to wrestle with.

Your circumstances go from bad...to worse!

One day, owner of the old general store informs you, that from now on you must pay cash for everything that you purchase in his establishment.  You're embarrassed by your inability to pay, and you walk away wondering how you could ever go back.  You still don't have work, and even when you do get a few dollars, you go the extra 25 miles into the larger city to make your purchases because you don't want to be reminded just how much you owe the old guy that owns the general store.  

Redemption

One day, a friend shows up at your home and asks to speak with you.  He's heard through the "grapevine" that you are having some real financial struggles.  The story of your huge debt at the general store has been made known to him through a mutual friend, and you get an uneasy feeling as he asks you what you are going to do.  Youstill don't have work, and the outstanding bill is still as outstanding as ever.  You shake your head and say, "I don't know."

Then your friend shares something that takes your breath away. 

He announces that he is going to pay your outstanding account at the general store. He's going to do that anonymously so that no one will know.  He's going to pay your debt in full, AND he insists that he doesn't want you to pay him back in the future. It's his gift to your family. He says something about "really caring" about you, and when you look into his eyes, you know he's telling you the truth.

Not only that, but he informs you that the company that he works for is hiring, and they could use an employee like you to help them out.  You can't believe what you are hearing, but you make your way to the office of the company that is hiring, and by the next morning life has taken a major turn for the better.  You now have employment once again, your reputation in the village where you live is re-established, and the old proprietor with the handlebar mustache is smiling when you walk through the door of the old general store.

Question: How would you respond to a friend who would do that for you and your family?

The parable that I just shared with you (as simple and common as it might seem), helps me to understand God's grace. Because of the sin in my life, I owed a debt that I could not pay...and it was FAR greater than anything I could have financially owed to anyone. I was stuck, destitute, impoverished...

...and then my friend Jesus showed up.  

He paid my debt, helped me get a new start, and gave me a new purpose in life.  How will I respond to a friend like that...today, and tomorrow, and for the rest of my life?

Have a great day and God bless!

Pastor Mike / The Open Word 

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