The Beauty Is in the Gift Given

I don't know about you, but from time to time, I'm one that has a hard time accepting gifts from others. I don't know if I'm the only one. I think I get this a little bit from my dad. He's one of those people you can do something for, and he has to give you something back in return. I don't think it necessarily is a bad concept, but it's one that I'm not sure of. I've tried to change my view on it as I've gone through time.

You might be asking, who doesn't like receiving gifts? I do. I do enjoy receiving gifts, but sometimes I find myself having a hard time accepting a gift. It could be a small gift, or it could be a large gift. Normally, the more the gift is of a personal nature, something maybe I really need, or something that somebody knew that I could use in my life, or something that they maybe even sacrificed for so that I could have it, it makes it kind of even more difficult for me to receive that gift.

The concept of accepting a gift hit me square between the eyes a few years ago. If you like titles, the title of this message is, The Beauty is in the Gift Given. The beauty is in the gift given. A couple years ago, I have a, before we moved up here, I sold my, or actually gave it away, my 1999 Toyota Silvera. It's nothing to brag about or to take home. You're not going to see it in a classic car show. But it was my car. It was one that I tried to take good care of, and the muffler and the seam back in the tailpipe had rusted out.

I had gooped it up enough times. I taped it up enough times. After about four or five months, it would rust apart again. Finally, I decided the whole thing was coming off. I'm tired of driving down the highway. It sounded like I have no muffler on the car. I decided, by all the parts, they were at the house.

I was going to take off the exhaust from the engine all the way back to the end of the car. Everything was coming off. I knew what was going on. I've done these types of projects before, or at least minor ones on cars. Midway through the project, I ran into a spot. I got myself into a little bit of a pickle. I called a friend, phoned a friend who is very good at this type of thing.

In the conversation with him, he happened to be out shopping with his family around the area. He said, I'll swing by and I'll take a look at it and give you some guidance. I said, great. He came on over and looked at a few things and gave me some pointers. I appreciated his help. He went on his way. I kept on working on the car.

About an hour later, once again, here I am stuck with something I'd never came across before. I think I twisted off a bolt or something like that. Now I'm like, I got nothing. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do here. I call him again for another some more guidance. He says, I'll swing back by. I said, no, you've already been by once. He goes, I'm still in the area. We're still shopping. He comes over. Pulls in and he's looking under the hood. He asked me a silly question. I thought it was silly at the time.

He says, can you give me a ride home? I'm thinking, your wife and your kids are sitting right out there in the driveway. Why do you need a ride home? I said, I can, but why? He goes, because I'm going to stay and help you finish this project. I said, no, that's too much. I said, you're out with your family. It's your Sunday. It's the day you get things done. You're out shopping. I said, no, I'll be fine. He goes, no, I insist. I like working on cars. You can use a hand here. I'll stay and help you. And so, I mean, with a friend like he is, I couldn't talk him out of it.

So I accepted his help. He sent his wife and kids home and we stayed and worked on the project. We got a good way to the point where I could go ahead and finish it up myself on another day. So I went after we got done, I took him on home. And while we're driving, I'm one of those people who probably over-thinks people. It's that every five minutes saying, yeah, thanks. I really appreciate it because it meant a lot to me, not only to have a friend that would help out, but one that would go ahead and give up so much of his time on a Sunday.

And so, I really thanked him and we moved on and dropped him off. It was dark by this point on a summer night, so you know it was pretty late. And so, way back home, I'm thinking about just how great it is to have a blessing of a friend like that. And I got home and I told Laura, I said something I really want to do is I want to get him a gift card. And it was interesting because, I mean, it was a good help and I wanted him to just know how much I appreciated everything that I was doing.

And Laura's not one to shy away from giving a gift or showing appreciation, but she asked me a question.

She said, what, why do you feel you need to get him something? And my first reaction was, are you kidding me? He just gave up so much of his Sunday on a thing I couldn't do myself. I needed the help and it's a really big deal. So, we need, I want to get him something. And she goes, he offered to help you. And he wouldn't want anything back for doing what he did. I said, of course he doesn't want anything back, but this is what I need to do. I feel moved. This is, it's important. And then she said something. She goes, when you've helped people out before, you never expected anything in return. Why do you, and she asks again, why do you feel the need to get him something? What inside you is making you feel this way? For the first time in my life, it caused me to pause on this type of topic. Laura's made me pause quite a few times, but on this topic, it was the first time I'd really paused for a little bit and say, what inside of me is really making me feel like I need to return and give him a gift in return.

I got thinking about the idea and several different feelings started coming to mind, and that's when I realized that I have a feeling of always needing to reciprocate when a gift is given to me. But by always reciprocating or even feeling that I needed to give a gift in return, what I ended up doing was diminishing the beauty that is in the gift given.

Why is it that sometimes we have a problem accepting gifts? Before we dive into answering this question, let's first look at reasons why we do give gifts. It's important to remember the concept. There may be a few rare examples of people who do not enjoy giving gifts. That may happen, but for most part, people, all of us, enjoy giving gifts. There's a special feeling we receive inside when we have an opportunity to give something to another person. It's a blessing from God when we have opportunities to give gifts to others. When we read through the New Testament, we see countless times of the Apostle Paul willingly giving himself in service to the early church. One of those cases is in Acts 20 in verse 35. Acts 20 and in verse 35.

Specifically, in this example, Paul is sharing a farewell message to the elders of the church in Ephesus. He had been there, he had traveled with them, and this was his farewell message to him. As we worked through all of verse 20, we would see Paul pretty much pouring out what he had done for them. But it was done out of love. It wasn't like, oh, tell me how great I am because I've done these things. It was out of everything that he had served, all the ways that he had cared for, and they in return had cared for him. In Acts 20 verse 35, Paul says, The interesting part about giving is that it appears to be an innate part of who we are as humans. This aspect of desiring to give gifts, this desire to give to other people. I ran across an interesting article on CNN.com that referenced a university study on children and giving. This article is from September 17, 2012, and it's titled For Kids, It's Better to Give than Receive. It's written by Amanda Inyati, E-N-A-Y-A-T-I. In this article, it says, A growing body of research paints a compelling picture that may help us rethink some of our over-the-top spending on children. These studies confirm some age-old wisdom about happiness. If the goal really is to make our children happy, perhaps what we ought to be doing is not overindulging them, but giving them the opportunity to give. According to the annual tooth fairy survey, and that really does exist, the annual tooth fairy survey, the fairy is delivering an average of three dollars per tooth, up 15 percent from last year, and this is in 2012, with some children hitting the jackpot with as much as twenty dollars per tooth. So it's really talking about how much for something like this that parents are just giving to their children for losing teeth.

The article goes on to say, but are the cash, and it talks about the overabundance of spending and giving that a lot of people are doing to their children when the children themselves aren't really doing anything in return, or it's almost in the article as it went through, almost over the top. But it goes on to say, but are the cash, toys, clothes, and foamy pretend coffees making our children happy? Probably not. According to a recent study by psychologists at the University of British Columbia, young children are happier to give than to receive. In the study, toddlers who were asked to give away their own treats, as well as extra treats, showed greater happiness about sharing their own possessions, suggesting that the act of personal sacrifice was emotionally rewarding. While the children in the study were giving away personal belongings, their goldfish crackers, the study's principle rests more generally on pro-social spending, says lead author Laura Aiken, assistant professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia. She says, you can construe that pro-social behavior, broadly to include giving time volunteering, giving money to causes, or giving other resources, all of these correlate to happiness. She finishes up by saying, the joy of helping others is an inherent part of human nature. I thought it was an interesting article. It's interesting to consider that giving is a part of our nature that again reflects a part of God's character that He has given to us.

Gifts are sometimes given because someone sees or hears about another person's need.

The giver puts themselves in the shoes of the other person and is moved to want to help that person out. Could it be that little kid with the goldfish crackers that we get down on their level? I mean, I've done this, I remember doing this a lot of times with Kelsey. She's eating her little crackers when she'd be little, and I'd come over and say, I'm hungry, can I have one of your crackers? And she'd smile, and at first it was always the give and then pull back, but then as they grow and they start to realize that there's joy and there's fun in giving, they're more than happy to share their goldfish crackers, their animal crackers. It's a neat part of working with children.

There is a wonderful scripture in Philippians 2 that reminds us of our need to look out for one another. This is Philippians 2 in verse 3.

Philippians 2 in verse 3.

Here again, the apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2 verse 3, Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mine, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. We know that usually when someone gives a gift, it's because they want to. Gifts are given by others freely, or at least they should be.

So why do we sometimes have a hard time accepting gifts from others? There are several different reasons, of course, and the reasons may be unique to each person, but I'd like to look at just a few maybe high-level reasons why some people have problems receiving gifts. Kelsey has a Christian book titled God and Me, and it's written by Jeanette Dahl and Linda Washington, and the book identifies has an interesting story in it that kind of starts answering maybe one of the first reasons why some people have a difficult difficulty receiving gifts. It's titled The Gift. The story says, Madison Gordon burst into the house, her face glowing with excitement.

Look what Mr. Wheeler just gave us, Dad, she said as she placed a handful of cash on the table, where her father sat reading the newspaper. $60, her father said, his eyebrows raised.

He said he wanted to help us since, well, since you lost your job last week.

Her father frowned, then snapped the paper to another page. Take the money back, we're not doing that bad. But Dad, we just can't accept charity. We don't need it, we'll be fine. He handed the money to Madison. Madison didn't understand why they couldn't accept the money.

If I finish the story, it would end well, like most kids' stories do, with the father accepting the gift. But let's think about what the father said, why he didn't want to accept the gift.

He again said, we can't accept charity, we don't need it, we'll be fine. And at that point, he handed the money back to his daughter. What inner characteristics or emotions may have caused the father to say this? Maybe he was too proud, too self-reliant, to receive money from someone. Maybe he felt guilty, inadequate, or unworthy of receiving a monetary gift. Let's look a little bit more closely at these characteristics and emotions, since we can also experience one or more of these when we are given a gift ourselves.

First, let's think about pride or self-reliance. Sometimes pride or self-reliance can get in our way of receiving a gift from someone else. We may arrogantly think, why did they think that we needed that gift? I work hard, I'm a good person, I do the right thing in life. Self-reliance can also make receiving a gift difficult. We may think, I don't need handouts from others, I have it covered on my own. We sometimes forget that everything that we have in this life, everything that we have in our possession is a gift from God. It's his blessings that he pours out onto us. Someone reaching out to us in our time of need is a blessing. We have to watch out for a secret inner thoughts of pride or self-reliance which could cause us to receive, reject a gift, or insist on reciprocating an equal gift back to the person. It's not always easy to accept gifts and help from others, but from time to time we realize we need that help. Let's look at James 4 and verse 6. As we consider this concept of what could keep us from receiving gifts, James 4 and verse 6.

Here in the book of James chapter 4 verse 6 we have recorded, but he gives more grace.

Therefore, he says, God resists—that's where I meant to start. Therefore, he says, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Clench your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. This is scripture we sometimes finish up reading around this time of the year as well. Verse 10, humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up. Sometimes it is difficult because we've got other glaring sins that get in our way and keep us from being able to receive a gift from others—the pride, the lack of humility.

And yet, this is exactly at this time of the year what we should be doing—humbling ourselves and considering the error in our ways. There's another passage in Luke 18 that provides a clear example that pride exists in each of us. Luke 18. Luke chapter 18 and verse 9.

This is another one of those areas of life that we examine around this time of the year—pride.

Where does it exist? Because it really is—pride itself is really the root of so many sins that we struggle against. Luke 18 and verse 9. Speaking of Christ, in verse 9, Also he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves, that they were righteous and despised others.

It says, Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus within himself, God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, and even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner.

In verse 14, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

It's another powerful passage that often we think of at this time of the year, looking at our lives, examining our lives, and recognizing just how far we do fall short.

But getting back to our main topic here, there's another reason that some have problems accepting gifts from others. Let's think about guilt, inadequacy, or unworthiness.

Have you ever felt guilty receiving a gift? Maybe someone has given you a really generous gift, one that costs more than they really have money to spend. Or maybe you're thinking that you haven't really done something deserving of this gift. You haven't done something to that person already to deserve such a nice gift. Maybe it's a generous gift of their time. They took a large amount of their day or week to give you a hand or to be a listening ear. Your action may be, again, I can't receive this. I don't deserve this. It's just too much. But the fact is, the person isn't giving you a gift hoping you would feel guilty. In fact, they could be really sad or bothered to know that their gifts stirred up feelings of guilt inside of you. Sometimes people have a generous heart and they want to give a very generous gift. When these gifts come our way, we need to open up our own hearts to receive them freely. I've heard the phrase that's been said before, a closed hand cannot give a gift. A closed hand can also not receive a gift. It goes both ways. We have to have a willing heart and an open hand to both give and to receive. What if God sends a blessing or gift your way? Do you ever think, I don't deserve this blessing. I'm not worthy of receiving it. We can deal with feelings of unworthiness or inadequacy, whether a gift comes from another fellow human being or from our Father in heaven. Both are sometimes something we need to watch out for so we don't find ourselves rejecting a gift being sent our way. When God gives us a gift or a blessing, there's something important to remind ourselves of. The fact is, He sent us a blessing and it's not about us. It's not about our worthiness. It's not about our unworthiness.

It's simply for us from Him, our generous and loving Father. A scripture reminding us of this fact is found in James chapter 1 again, going back to the book of James 1 verse 17.

James 1 verse 17.

It says, Even that, even the calling that we've received, even the gifts of eternal life, having that down payment paid is an amazing gift that God has given.

So when He sends us a blessing and we're feeling unworthy, let's turn our focus onto Him to praise Him and to offer our thanksgiving to God for that gift because He is the one worthy of all praise and all glory. There's a third way we can reject gifts, receiving gifts from others, and that is in keeping score. Do we ever get caught up in keeping score with others? This person invited me over for dinner. I have to invite them over for dinner. Now we're even again. Now we're good. Or this person gave me time. He helped me out with something. I must get them something in return. That was that problem I was having at the beginning, talking about the car repair. He'd done so much, given up so much for me. I have to give something back so then I can feel okay that we're even again. Everything's good in the world. Score's settled. Is that what we get ourselves into sometimes? I know I've done that at times. I pull up my gift deflecting shield and as soon as that gift hits it, I have to deflect one right back to Him so the score is still one to one. It's a difficulty that I didn't realize I was struggling from until Laura asked me that question that one day. Shouldn't a real thank you be enough? How would we feel if every time we gave a gift someone a gift, they gave one back to us? If a gift is somehow repaid, is it really a gift?

What is the definition of the word gift? From dictionary.reference.com, it says, a gift is something given voluntarily without payment in return.

Personally, as I mentioned, this is my biggest challenge and one that led to this topic today.

Like I said at the beginning, it's something I've seen from my father. I thought it was a good example to always be trying to help other people and let them know you appreciate them.

Maybe even up the score so they know that you're not just taking that gift for granted.

But in time of doing that, I've probably stepped on some people's gifts along the way.

I've probably made them feel like what they were giving freely and not expecting anything in return by me forcing something back to them in return kind of nullified what they were trying to do in the first place. Each of us may struggle with certain aspects of receiving gifts from others.

I don't necessarily think I'm alone in this. There may be other reasons as well, than we just looked at here. But we can watch out for pride. We can watch out for self-reliance, guilt, inadequacy, unworthiness, or score-keeping when it comes to receiving a gift in our lives. Because we don't want to miss out on the beauty that is in the gift given.

So why is this topic important today as we approach the Passover in just a few weeks from now?

This is a very special time of the year that we have a chance to reflect on the most amazing gift that we were ever given in our lives. This is truly a free gift, one that we did not earn and could never possibly pay back. When it comes to the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior in our place, do we sometimes experience some of the same characteristics or emotions that we just reviewed? Do we ever experience pride, self-reliance, or score-keeping? Do we get caught up trying to earn Christ's sacrifice through our works or being a good Christian? Do we think we can somehow repay that gift? We need to remember that it is God who is completing His work in us as we yield to Him and as we yield to His Spirit. Let's read this in Philippians 1 verse 6.

Go forward in our Bibles a little bit to Philippians 1 verse 6.

Because as God works with us, as He shows us His plan, as He reveals more of His truth to us daily, He's changing us. He's continually giving. He's continually working in our lives.

We have a few passages that just nail this concept down. The first being in Philippians 1 in verse 6, which says, "...being confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." That God will complete this work. He's going to continue to give us gifts to help us along the way. He's going to continue to get us help. He's going to continue to be involved, and that is the loving Father that we want involved in our life.

Another similar passage is in Hebrews 13 verse 20. Turn again back a little bit to Hebrews. Hebrews 13 and verse 20.

Now, may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. God is doing this work. We must remember that God is performing an amazing work inside each one of us. He's giving us a new heart. What a sad... Is that a gift that...

You talk about people who need organs. You talk about somebody needs a kidney, somebody needs a heart transplant, and how important that is to their lives. God has given us a new heart because He knows that the stony hard hearts that we were born with and that our nature wants to continue to encourage, that's not where He wants us to be. It's not where we want ourselves to be. He's giving us a gift of a new heart. Do we ever allow guilt or inadequacy or unworthiness to keep us from fully embracing the completeness of what Christ gave for us, thinking His sacrifice was just too much for us? It's too much for me to handle. We need to set our focus instead on Him and His worthiness, not on ourselves and our unworthiness. It's a passage in Revelation chapter 4 verse 11 that I like to look at next, Revelation 4 and verse 11, because we'll see who's worthy.

We'll see who is truly worthy.

Revelation 4 and verse 11.

It says, You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things and by Your will they exist and were created. Chapter 5 verse 1.

The Lord was worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it.

Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, a golden bowl full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And verse 10, and have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth. What a powerful passage of who is worthy to work mighty works in our lives. Who's worthy to give us gifts that we need and who is worthy to change out this stony hard heart that we have and to make it soft, make it receptive to Him in His way. God the Father gave the world His Son, and Jesus Christ laid down His life for all. Both did this so that the world may have an opportunity for eternal life. As we near the closing end of this message, let's consider five important aspects of the gift of Jesus Christ. The first being that God gave His Son. God gave His Son. We know that from John 3 verse 16. If you go to any football games or baseball games, there's always somebody holding up the John 3 16 sign. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. There's another similar passage in Romans 8 verse 31. Romans 8 and verse 31.

This is one of my favorite passages because it's so encouraging when we hit difficult trials, when we have a rough week, when we need that little boost. Romans 8 verse 31. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

You see, the word give given there a lot. The gifts that God gives us started with His own Son to cover our sin. So that's the first aspect of the gift of Jesus Christ. Second, Christ gave of Himself by willingly surrendering to His Father's will. Again, we don't need to turn there. It was referenced in the sermonette today. But Matthew 26 verse 39 says, He went a little further and fell on His face and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. Christ always sought the will of the Father. We see this again in Hebrews 9 verse 11. Flipping back again to Hebrews 9 and verse 11.

Hebrews 9 verse 11, But Christ came as high priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, He entered the most holy place, once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Another way that Christ gave of Himself is Christ's way down His life as a gift for all humanity.

Unlike a lot of times when we give a gift just to one person, the gift of Jesus Christ laying down His life was a gift for all of humanity. You put in your notes 1 John 3 verse 16, 1 John 3 verse 16, which says, By this we know, because He lay down His life for us, and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Christ is that ultimate example of giving His own life for each one of us. We're called to do the same. We can see this in John, the book of John chapter 10 verse 14. Another example, John 10 and verse 14. Here again in verse 14, Christ is speaking, saying, I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and am known by my own, as the Father knows me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep, and other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Therefore my Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. Christ willingly again gave of himself.

We see, if we turn a couple chapters forward to John 15 verse 12, we'll see in another example, John 15 verse 12.

Another example of what we are to be doing because of this mindset that Christ had.

John 15 verse 12. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.

We know that giving our life is a sacrifice. Giving our time is a sacrifice. Giving of our resources that God has blessed us with is a sacrifice. But we're commanded time and time and time again to be doing this because of the example that we have in Christ, the gift that he gave. That was the third way that Christ gave. The fourth is Christ gave up his position in the Godhead. He gave up his position in the Godhead when he came as human form. Let's read this in Philippians 2 verse 5.

Philippians 2 and verse 5.

Here again, the Apostle Paul says, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. He wasn't something that Christ sought after. It wasn't something that he wanted to hold on to. It's this aspect of not considering it robbery to be equal with God.

But verse 7.

A fifth way that Christ gave of himself is that Christ alone is our sacrifice. Christ is our sacrifice.

You can put in your notes 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 7.

1 Corinthians 5 or 7. Therefore, purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed, Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

Jesus Christ lived a physical life on this earth. He understands this life you and I go through.

In his empathy towards us, he wanted to give his life so that you and I and the whole world would have an opportunity for eternal life with God the Father and with himself.

We can look at Hebrews again 4 verse 15.

Flip a few chapters or a few books forward. Hebrews 4 verse 15. Because Christ understands what we go through day to day.

He understands being tempted. He understands the difficulty of having this human flesh because he lived a similar life as us in human form. Hebrews 4 verse 15. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. That thing that we struggle for and that we strive for, living a life without sin, Christ did. So he understands the difficulty. He understands temptation. He understands our weaknesses. When we really look at all that was given for our sake, it can seem too much for our feeble human minds. But God doesn't think in human terms and his love for humanity is so great. We can't fathom the depth of God's love for all of his creation. We don't deserve a gift, God's gift of his Son, but it was still freely given to each and every one of us. Let's embrace the beauty of that gift that we've been given. Let's look at Romans. Turn forward a ways to Romans chapter 5 verse 1. Romans 5 and verse 1. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance, character, and character, hope. Now, hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us, or which was given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely, a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. I came across another story. This one is from Huffington Post. It's dated April 3rd of 2014. It's an article written by Andrea Gardner. It's entitled, To the Woman Behind Me in Line at the Grocery Store.

Dear Woman Behind Me in Line at the Grocery Store, You don't know me. You have no clue what my life has been like since October 1st, 2013. You have no clue that my family has gone through the wringer. You have no clue that we have faced unbelievable hardship. You have no clue we have been humiliated, humbled, destitute. You have no clue that I have cried more days than not.

That I fight against bitterness taking control of my heart.

You have no clue that my husband's pride was shattered. You have no clue that my kids have had the worries of an adult on their shoulders. You have no clue their innocence was snatched from them for no good reason. You know none of this. What you do know is I tried to buy my kids some food and that the EBT machine was down so I couldn't buy that food. I didn't have any cash or my debit card with me. I only had my snap card and all you heard was me saying, no, don't hold it for me. My kids are hungry now and I have no other way of paying for this.

You didn't judge me. You didn't snarl. You didn't snarl. Maybe you should have less kids.

You didn't say, well, get a job and learn to support yourself.

You didn't look away in embarrassment or shame for me. You didn't make any assumptions at all.

What you did was you paid that $17.38 grocery bill for us.

You gave my kids bananas, yogurt, apple juice, cheese sticks, and a peach iced tea for me, a rare treat, and splurge. You let me hug you and promise through my tears that I will pay this forward. I will pay someone's grocery bill for them. That $17.38 may not have been a lot for you, but it was priceless to us. In the car my kids couldn't stop gushing about you.

They prayed for you. They prayed you would be blessed. You restored some of our lost faith.

One simple and small action changed our lives. You probably have forgotten about us by now, but we haven't forgotten about you. You will forever be a part of us, even though we didn't even know your name. To the woman behind me at the grocery store.

You have no idea how much we appreciate you. You have no idea the impact that you had on my kids.

You have no idea how incredibly thankful I am for you. Your actions may have been small, but to us it was monumental. Thank you. Thank you for not judging us.

Thank you for giving my kids a snack when they were quite hungry. Thank you. Just thank you.

She signs it forever, Andrea, the woman in front of you at the grocery store, with a cart full of kids who are no longer hungry.

I struggle reading that because I put myself in her shoes.

That feeling of hopelessness. That feeling of what am I going to do.

And that feeling that there was no other option.

And when you equate it to the time of the year that we're in, that you and I had a debt on our head. A debt that we could not pay off.

No other options did we have to get through it on our own.

And that God in his love sent his son as our sacrifice.

That Christ was standing behind us in line and says, I've got this one.

None of us deserving it. None of us ever going to be able to pay it back.

But that is what we have.

We are not asked to come to Passover service with guilt or feelings of inadequacy.

We should approach Passover with a strong sense of peace and joy, realizing that we have received a free gift, one given to us because we needed it.

Because the gift is free, there should be no guilt feelings like, how can I pay this back?

Or this is too much for me to receive with the sins I'm still battling.

Now is the time to focus on the amazing gift that has been given to us from the love of God.

He has allowed us freedom from the weight of sin and that we may have an opportunity for a relationship with Him, our elder brother, and the rest of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

So, as we enter Passover this year, as we think about Christ and His sacrifice, as we think about the ways we strive to look more like the image of God and the image of Christ, let us do these things. Let us be thankful, as we heard in the sermon at again. Let us be thankful. Let us use the gift of Christ's sacrifice to propel us forward and let us serve others.

One last passage is from Romans.

Well, we're actually still here in Romans. Romans 5 and verse 12.

Romans 5 and verse 12. Therefore, just as through one man's sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned, therefore as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one's man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.

Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. So that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. As we prepare for Passover in these next few weeks, let us not forget the beauty that is in the gift given.