It's Free but It's Not

Please read Exodus 12-13; Psalm 21; Acts 1 if you're interested in reading the Bible through in a year.

They should take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and on the beam over the door of the houses in which they are eating. I’ll pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I’ll strike down every oldest child in the land of Egypt, both humans and animals. I’ll impose judgments on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. -Exodus 12:7ff (Common English Bible)

I'm a little late in posting this devotional. When I woke up this morning, I had a choice. I could get up and read the scriptures and write my daily devotional before getting Nicolas ready for school or I could go back to sleep for just a little bit longer. Guess which one I chose?

Life is full of choices. We see that in the scripture readings for this morning. God has announced that He is going to pass through the land of Egypt and strike down the oldest child of each family as a way of passing judgment against the worship of false gods in Egypt. But God offers salvation to the Israelite people: if they will slaughter a lamb and smear the blood of the lamb on their doorposts, God will "pass over" that house and they will be safe from judgment. God offered them the gift of salvation (they'd done nothing to earn it) but they had to do something: they had to make some sort of sacrifice (in this case, a lamb) and they also had to obey God's command (among other things, to place the blood of the lamb on their doorposts).

This presents an interesting dilemma for the believer. On the one hand, we realize that salvation is God's gift. It is not ours because we deserve it or because we have earned it. It's is ours because God loves us and desires to bridge the gap that our sin has created between us and God. As the old saying goes, we can't do anything to make God love us any more and we can't do anything to make God love us any less. And yet, this offer of salvation requires a response. There are sacrifices that we must be willing to make. There are responsibilities as children of God that we must be willing to take. It's free, but it's not. Confused yet?

Some of you may not agree with me. That's okay; it's your choice. Just like my choice to stay in bed this morning. But today I invite you to prayerfully reflect upon the gift of salvation that has been offered to you by God in Christ. Thank God for that gift (because it is a gift) and prayerfully discern what God would have you do or say in response to that gift. Is God honored if you accept the gift of His salvation and yet refuse to make any sacrifices or changes in how you live? I trust that God will grant you the grace to consider the most appropriate response to the great gift of God's salvation today.

Blessings on your day. I'll try to get up earlier tomorrow.