Second Corinthians 6:1-2 NIV reads, “As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, ‘ In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”
Reuters, Dec. 22, 2003 carried this story: “Thousands of Dutch residents literally were digging through their garbage after they found out that they might have thrown away a diamond. It seems that a local jeweler sent 4000 clients a mailing to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his business. In 200 of the envelopes, the jeweler had placed a small diamond, while the rest of the envelopes had a cubic zirconium (an inexpensive substitute used in costume jewelry) inserted in them along with a chance for a grand prize drawing.
As with much direct mail these days, many of those who received the letter ignored it, thinking it was junk mail and threw it away without even opening it to look inside. They, of course, had no idea that the envelope might have contained a diamond!
At any rate, only a few people responded to the mailing so the jeweler called several customers and found out that most of them had discarded the mailing without looking at the contents. Though sending precious stones to clients is not unusual in the Netherlands, the jeweler told a local newspaper, “I was very naive. People nowadays do not trust mailings like these anymore.”
Some may have read the letter, but thought it was too good to be true, or they thought they could tell the difference between a real diamond and a cubic zirconium, and threw it out. Many didn’t even open the envelope at all. How sad!
But a greater tragedy is the number of people who never bother to listen to God’s offer of forgiveness. God has put something far more valuable in a book that he has sent to us. The question is: will we even bother to open the book, and if we do, will we do what it suggests in order to receive the great gift that is being held out to us?
There is a huge difference between the diamonds and cubic zirconiums the jeweler sent out and the gift of God. You see, God’s gift of grace is the real deal every time. He doesn’t offer cubic zirconium grace to anyone, yet everyday people turn down his offer and throw away their opportunity at eternity. How terribly sad?
“O Lord, may I never be so busy or jaded that I fail to receive what you give us! For it’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
Pastor Brunner is the founder and director of Jim Brunner Ministries
