~ The Greatest Bargain! ~
A chance
purchase…
The
following is an excerpt from a book.
There was a time when I
collected prints of scenes from the Pacific Northwest. I remember the time that
I was looking through a hardware store in a small town along the Columbia River. I always enjoy hardware stores,
especially in small towns, and in this case the anticipation of a bargain was
high due to the “going out of business” signs in the windows. It wasn’t long
before I spotted something I had not anticipated. It was a large discarded
painting in the back room—in the “Employees Only” area. It was extremely dirty
and dusty but I thought I could make out that it was a painting of Crater Lake, Oregon.
The painting had no future and was headed for the dump when the store closed
for the last time.
I found the owner of the
store and asked about it. He was surprised that I had spotted it and amazed
that I showed an interest in it. He brought it out and we blew off some of the
dust. I quickly discovered some prior do-it-yourself efforts to clean the painting—which
were clearly unsuccessful. Apparently someone had used gasoline or other
solvent, smearing the oils—the painting looked beyond repair. But since my wife
and I had honeymooned at Crater Lake and we returned to that special spot
regularly, to his delight I gave the store owner a few dollars and then left
with an original oil painting. My intention was to restore the painting.
At home I briefly cleaned it
the best I could and hung it in our basement, but it was clearly damaged goods.
The painting hung in our basement for a number of years.
One day through a business
contact I learned of a local oil painting restoration expert. His services
turned out to be far more reasonable than I expected and the beauty of the
original creation was brought back to life. The vibrant colors were amazing. It
turned out to be a painting from the late 1800s by a well-known painter. Some
years later we took it for a formal valuation and confirmed that the painting
which had been headed to the trash was indeed valuable.
The painting now occupies a
prominent spot in our dining room—it is on display for others to see and
admire.
Just like that painting,
many lives have been wasted and now exist in back rooms missing out on the
purpose for which they were created. Many others appear very successful on the
outside, but inside they are empty and missing the most important thing in
life. Like the painting, they are covered with dirt from past experiences,
circumstances, and wrong decisions.
When the surface is cleaned
up and a deeper analysis is made, the evidence of past do-it-yourself
improvement projects is evident. No lasting success was achieved; in fact,
often they are worse off than before their “pulling up by bootstraps” efforts
were completed.
I have some good news for
you. Jesus Christ is the Master Restorer. He restores broken and cast-off
lives. He brings clarity and brilliance to all who come to Him. Bringing your
past to Jesus Christ and trusting Him for the future is the only effective
answer. He has already paid for your restoration at the Cross. You only need to
deliver yourself to the Master Restorer. When He restores, all your stains are
removed and vibrancy is restored. Like my painting, you can be restored to what
you were intended to be.
As you grow in your
knowledge of Him, you take on His character. Like the painting, you can now
fulfill the role for which you were created. Your life will have meaning and
purpose, and like the painting, you will bring joy and pleasure to others. You
will no longer be headed for the trash bin, rather now you have a secure home.
Others looking on will admire what they see.
That painting is a picture
of many individuals today. Because of Adam’s original sin all of mankind is
doomed to sin, suffering, and death. The just and righteous Creator of the
universe cannot overlook crime against His holy nature—the price must be paid!
The Good News is that your
penalty has been paid by Jesus Christ.
The sin of man grieved the
heart of God so much that He sent His only Son to die at Calvary to pay the
penalty for your sin. However, there
is a simple requirement in order for you to escape the ultimate judgment and
corresponding eternal suffering. You must make a decision to accept the gift of
salvation that the death of Jesus Christ provided for you.
But please do not take my
word for it—take God at His Word. Consider the following quotations from the
Word of God. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans
3:23). As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans
3:10).
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”
(Romans 6:23). “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not
in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My
voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with
Me” (Revelation 3:20 NKJV). “Everyone who calls on the name
of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal
life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to
save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but
whoever does not believe stands condemned already because He has not believed
in the name of God's one and only Son” (John 3:16-18).
Please now understand the
significance of that word “whoever.” That last paragraph may be correctly read
as follows: “For God so
loved [your name] that He gave His one and only
Son, so that if [your name] believes in Him [your name] shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not
send His Son into the world to condemn [your name], but that [your name] might
be saved through
Him. If [your name] believes in Him [your name] will not be condemned, but if
[your name] does not believe [your name] stands condemned already
because [your name] has not believed
in the name of God's one and only Son.”
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first
importance: that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the
third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The fact
that Jesus Christ overcame death proves He was God. Over 500 eyewitnesses saw the
resurrected Christ at one time. There were also numerous other appearances in
His resurrected state including appearances to those who knew Him very well. He
not only has power over death but also the power to give you a never-ending
life of great joy and happiness in the world to come.
“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His
name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural
descent, nor of human decision or a
husband's will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13). However, this world may
be at 11:59 p.m. on the dial of the “earth’s history” clock, and when the hour
strikes midnight it will be too late.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some
understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but
everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.
The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire”
(2 Peter 3:9-10).
God has promised that if you
come to Him in faith He will save you for all time and provide you with a deep
inner assurance of the reality of your salvation. “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God so that you may know that
you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13, emphasis added). Once you have
accepted the free gift of having your sins paid for by the death of Jesus
Christ, the way to confidence and assurance of your future is to regularly read
the Word of God and to pray to God.
As you follow God you will
gain complete confidence in your future. If you have made the decision to
accept the death of Jesus Christ on your behalf, welcome to the kingdom of God! I am so happy to have you as my new
brother or sister.
~
from “ONE PRECIOUS PEARL: God’s Design
for His Church, pgs 121-125 (ISBN: 9780741462329)
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