Gift Exchange

My son and I went out to exchange a pair of shoes.
I am always amazed at the elaborate methods the stores put in place for returns.
Metal poles make an organized queue and remind me of museum ropes.

People have interesting reasons for their returns.
Size, style, or simply not liking the item.
Some bring their item back in the original bag, others use whatever is handy.

No, I don’t have a receipt.
Can I get my money back?
Can you give me store credit?

I watched a sales person and a customer respond to each other.
The response had a direct correlation to the attitude.
Attitudes are not always the best in return lines.

I watched the sales person masterfully diffuse an attitude.
Diffusing an attitude with a smile and a soft spoken tone.
We caught eyes and smiled at each other knowingly.

Returns.
Gift exchanges.
Large crowds similar to the days before Christmas.

What if we treated God’s Gift as an exchangeable item?
Size, style, or we simply just don’t want it.

We want a little bit of God, an amount that fits into our busy life.
We want the right style of God, something that will blend in with everything else.
We simply don’t want God at all; not now, maybe later.

Can I make a return?
Can I exchange the Gift You gave me, God?
Can I get credit for another time when it’s more convenient?

Paul replied…My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me. However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man…Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings…He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs. Several days later Felix came in with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you. At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked to him. (Acts 24:10, 12-16, 22-26)

Felix was the Roman procurator of Judea, in charge of financial affairs.
Felix listened as Paul talked about Jesus, sending for him only if it was convenient.
Felix hoped that Paul, who was under house arrest, would bribe him for his freedom.

Paul realized a Freedom that Felix knew nothing about.
Paul, though bound, was free because the Son of God had set him free indeed.
Felix could not hear Truth because he was indifferent to it, unless there was personal gain.

The way Felix operates is not terribly different from the way many respond to God.
God’s free gift of His Son Jesus.
The free gift that costs us nothing, but cost Jesus everything.

How dare we think we can come to God on our own terms!
How foolish to think that we can bargain or make exchanges!
It doesn’t work that way.

You don’t walk away from God.
Jonah tried unsuccessfully.
Paul himself was struck blind until he saw the Light.

When we realize the Gift we have in our salvation through Jesus, we guard it with our life.
We would never think of exchanging a gift so priceless.
It is a treasure, not an inconvenient, replaceable item.

God’s call on our life is irrevocable.
Indifference and True Faith are like oil and water.
They don’t mix!

You can’t have just a little bit of God.
You can’t hide God in your pocket in hopes that He blends in with everything else.
You can’t exchange God for something else.

There is nothing else!

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which they must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

No gift exchange.
No returns.