Mar 18 - "The Candy Store"

Romans 5:1-11
“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”
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How do you feel when you receive a gift? Most often, we smile, we feel gratitude and it is a time of joy. The special occasions surrounding the gifts we receive make them all the more enjoyable.

When you think about the gifts we receive on these special occasions, they basically come from a situation where we “deserve” the gift. An integral component of celebratory events such as Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries or Mother’s and Father’s Day is the exchange of gifts. We give these gifts to each other as recognition of the holiday or other special day. In essence, because we were born, because we are a mother or father, because of the Christmas celebration, we receive gifts because we are supposed to receive them to mark the occasion.

In today’s reading, we hear about the greatest gift ever. This gift, which God gave to you, to me and to every person who is, was and will ever be in all of Creation, was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to bear the burden of our sins. This gift gives us the opportunity for eternal life. It is a gift which we did not and cannot earn. The special nature of this gift is that there is nothing we can do to gain it, nothing we can do to lose it. All that has to happen is for us to open our hearts, our souls and our minds to receive the gift.

Think of yourself when you were a child. Imagine you are standing outside the world’s largest and most beautiful candy store. In this store is every kind of sweet and delicious treat ever made. You walk up and see into this store by pressing your small face into your cupped hands around your eyes against the window. You can smell the sweet goodness. You can almost taste your favorite candy melting in your mouth.

Then, the lights in the store come on. You are so excited! The store owner comes to the front doors and opens them wide, the scents of chocolate, jelly beans and candy come wafting into the street and envelope you. You can barely stand to wait any longer! You reach into your pockets to see how much money you have to buy some of the wonderful deliciousness. Your hands, however, come out empty. You have nothing; nothing to offer, no item to barter, no small token which can be traded to receive your favorite morsel. You are broken.

But wait, the owner of the candy store says to you, “Come in. All of this is for you, and it is free. The price has already been paid and you can have whatever you want, for as long as you like.” You are filled with joy! The Owner puts a guiding arm around you and welcomes you in. You enter and partake to your hearts content.

How awesome that would be!! And yet, it exists today! It exists for each of us in our relationship with God through Christ. It exists between each one of us through our relationships of love for one another.

So today, give a gift that is undeserved; forgive, love, smile, lend a helping hand, relinquish a treasured possession. Open your own Candy Store. For when we do each of things, we glorify and recognize in a small way the Gift given to us, which we did not deserve.