Blank Check
WORD PICTURE: BLANK CHECK
Scriptural Reference: Romans 1:16
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
1. Have someone(s) read the scriptures from various translations.
2. In advance, prepare a check written out for a billion jillion dollars, payable to yourself. Using this object, explain that although this check is written for a billion jillion dollars, it is worthless until it is cashed in.
3. My sharing, offered to spark sharing by others.
What I Shared
When I started to understand the Christian principle of redemption and salvation, the part I did not grasp was the need for repentance. I could not genuinely realize what God had done in Jesus Christ. I simply could not comprehend what anybody meant when they said that Jesus died for me. I felt certain I was a good person -- decent, law-abiding, I’m a good mom and faithful to my husband.
Even more baffling was all this Blood that was in the crucifixion and the notion that SIN had anything to do with ME. The “eureka moment” for me came when I saw how clear God’s message really was at the beginning of creation. (Genesis 3) He instructed Adam and Eve to do it His Way and everything would be all right. But they didn’t and so it wasn’t.
I too decide to eat that forbidden fruit because it looks delicious, and I am convinced it will not hurt me. So I do it my way and eat the fruit. That’s sin -- doing it my way instead of God’s way. That’s sin, whether I think so or not.
Repentance—that’s how I cash the check.
All Scripture references from the New International Version of the Bible (NIV).
Copyright by Whitney McKendree Moore, October 2006