I was cleaning out an old wallet of mine the other day and ran across some gift cards I had received as a gift...I excitedly went to my computer to check on balances. One of them had only .47 cents on it but the other $50! Wow.....how did I overlook that? Well according to Time magazine more than 40 Billion dollars worth of gift cards were left unredeemed in the last 7 years! Were they lost in the holiday trash or maybe stashed away for a rainy day and just forgotten? I am quite confident after checking with my husband and kids and realizing that we all have a gift card that is at least one year old that has never been used; that everyone has as least one in their posession!More than half of us either didn't find anything we wanted with our giftcard or accidentally let our cards expire! 75% of people carry a card around with a balance on it that is insignificant and will eventually just throw it away. Another 1/3 of people just don't like the store or restaraunt or forgot they even had it when they visited the establishment. We have unredeemed potential in our pockets!!!
There is value in you that is just waiting to be redeemed! Imagine the billions of people on our planet that were created for greatness and have potential that is untapped, forgotten about or are considered insignificant and not valueable. Redemption used in the Bible refers to the purchase price paid to secure our freedom; specifically in reference to the saving activity of God. Christ’s death was the purchase price and gift to us so that we can have a better life.
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace." (NIV Ephesians 1:7)
God redeemed the world 2,000 years ago through Christ’s death on the cross and placed that amount on a card for you and I to use. Christ’s death was the ransom price paid instead of us. Today, think about the value of the gift God gave you. How valuable is it to you? Have you redeemed it by faith? Do you continue to use it to serve others? Do you have your card stashed away for a rainy day?
A gift is given for the receiver to use. You have many gifts inside of you just waiting to be "cashed in". Thankfully this gift of salvation has no expiration date but what I do know about it is that the sooner you redeem it...the quicker you can live a fuller and happier life of faith, hope and love. This Jesus is the best gift anyone of us can ever receive and use. We ARE the redeemed!
Adjust that Crown,
Jonna
