The Gift.
The greatest gift ever offered is still waiting to be opened. This is a short, honest look at what that gift is, who it's from, and how to receive it.
Imagine someone who loves you deeply hands you a beautifully wrapped package and promises it is the finest gift you will ever receive. You carry it home, set it down, and never get around to opening it. Days slip into weeks. Weeks turn into years. The gift just sits there, collecting dust on a shelf.
It sounds absurd, yet it happens every single day. The gift of everlasting life from God has been placed in front of every person on earth, and many never even loosen the ribbon.
A gift, by definition, is not earned. If we earned it, we would call it a paycheck or a trophy. A gift is also free to the one receiving it, because the giver has already paid the full price. God offers everyone the gift of life — but the Bible is clear that what we have actually earned on our own is the opposite.
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way."
Isaiah 53:6a
"For the wages of sin is death…"
Romans 6:23a
In plain words: sin has a price tag, and that price is death.
Offered freely. Paid for in full.And still, often left unopened.
Every one to his own way.
When we shrug off what God did for us on the cross, we are doing more than dismissing a story. We are telling God we will not have Him as king, and quietly crowning ourselves in His place. That act puts a wall between us and the One who made us.
If we die with that wall still standing, the separation becomes permanent.
"They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might."
2 Thessalonians 1:9
And then God did the unthinkable.
God did not stay distant. He stepped into His own creation in the person of Jesus Christ, and showed us what love actually looks like.
"God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8
Jesus lived a life with no sin in it, and then He stepped into your place on a Roman cross. He took the death you and I had earned. Three days later He walked out of His own grave, breaking the back of sin and death once and for all.
His sacrifice paid your bill. In its place, He hands you eternal life. Through faith in Jesus you can be completely forgiven — not partially, not conditionally, but completely.
"…the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:23b
None of us knows how many sunrises we have left to open this gift.
"…it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment."
Hebrews 9:27
Open it. Receive it. Trust the One who gave it.
Reach out and take hold of this gift through faith in Jesus Christ. He traded His life for yours — He carried your sin to the cross and died there in your place. Believe He paid for it in full, and believe He rose from the dead so you could have the forgiveness and the life He is offering.
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."
Romans 10:9–10
God's forgiveness and eternal life are sitting there, wrapped, with your name on it. Will you open it?
"Jesus, I know I have lived for myself and walked away from You. I believe You are the Son of God, that You died on the cross to pay for my sin, and that You rose from the dead. Forgive me. I turn from my old way and put my trust in You. Be my Lord and my Savior. Thank You for the gift of new life. Amen."
When you call Jesus Christ Lord of everything — yes, even of you — and put your trust in Him to save you, He forgives your sin, brings you into His family, and gives you life that never ends.
Please do not put this off. This decision shapes the life you are living right now and the eternity that comes after it. Eternity is a long, long time to be cut off from the God who made you. You will not find an offer like this anywhere else — unconditional love that does not expire. God is calling.
"Come to Me…"
Matthew 11:28a
"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12
Tell Forrest where you are.
Every message is read personally. There is no script, no list, and no pressure.