Free Pass

A professor at a prominent university welcomed his students on the first day of class with a gift. He said, "Everyone in this class is valuable to me. I want everyone to be able to learn freely, without the fear of failure this semester, so I have a gift for you all. Everyone will receive an A for this class. You don't have to do anything to earn it and it won't drop, no matter your involvement or participation in the class. You can take this gift and slack off and learn nothing, or you can take this gift and use this class to learn as much as you possibly can, rise above, and become the best you can be, without the fear of failure looming in the back of your minds. It's up to you what kind of student you will be."

Upon first hearing this story, I immediately thought back to my years of college and what I probably would have done with the free A. That would have most likely been my last day to show up for class and I would have spent my time sleeping in, hanging out with my friends, or doing work for other classes. Who wouldn't take advantage of a free A!?

Unfortunately, this is what most Christians have done with their salvation.  God looked down on us and loved us enough to give us a "free pass" to heaven if we accepted Christ's gift of salvation. Knowing our sinful nature, He set up this gift to where if we accepted it, it could never be taken away, despite our involvement in Christianity, despite our desire to share it with others, despite our sinful behavior. We've taken our "free pass" and chosen to sleep through the rest of our lives and to act as the world around us acts. Or we've chosen to pursue other dreams, goals, or hobbies that we deem more important or more pressing.

But what is more important or more pressing than the fact that people are dying around us every day and going to hell?

Let's get honest for a minute. How many people can you think back and say that you honestly helped them find and accept Jesus this year? Count them up.

On average, 55.3 million people die every year.

What kind of difference did you make in those 55.3 million people? How many of them do you think knew Jesus?

But maybe you weren't living right for most of this past year but recently you've decided to live for Jesus. Maybe you've decided to tell more people and live more boldly for Him. I commend you.

So, again, how many people did you tell about Jesus today?

151,600 people will die today.

How many people have you told about Jesus this hour?

6,316 people will die in the next hour.

Even as you read this blog, nearly 2 people die every second.

Our time on Earth is important. We were placed here to bring glory to God in our actions and to tell the lost about His gift of salvation. Think back over your day today and count up everything you did that you could say to God: "I did this, this and this today to bring glory and honor to You and I told these people about your gift to us."

I'm just as guilty. I fly through life without remembering why I'm even here most days.

We aren't here to graduate school, get a good job, get married, have kids, get a promotion, own our own company, or make a lot of money. Those things aren't necessarily wrong, but they aren't our purpose. We wonder why so many people feel lost and worthless and confused about their place and purpose in life when the reality is JESUS is our purpose. His glory & His story. That is why we are here. If you spend your time on Earth chasing all of those other worldly goals, you'll wake up every day feeling empty inside because Jesus is the only one who can fill that space. We were made for Him and He is the only one who can satisfy.

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1

So what kind of college student are you? Would you take the A and slack off, accomplishing nothing? Or would you take the A and rise above, decide to learn and become better? How we respond to this gift shows our true character. You can take advantage of the gift and become lazy, or you can take the gift and become productive.

The choice is completely yours.

Take your "A" and do something great for Jesus. Take the incredible gift of salvation that He so graciously gave to us and become better. Live for Him.

Share it; tell the world.

"Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone."

Mark 16:15