Gift

Jesus the King, who came to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many.

If I am going to be perfectly honest, I like to be served. I enjoy going out for a nice meal and having people wait on me and ask if there’s anything else I need. I enjoy staying in nice hotels where you don’t have to worry about making beds or doing laundry, places that if you’ve forgotten something they will get it for you. I like dropping my car off at my mechanic and knowing that when I pick it up things are going to be fixed and working the way they should. I could go on and on listing ways in which others serve me and meet the needs of myself and family. But there is one catch that is common for everything I listed — each thing costs me. I have to pay for these services; they aren’t free! If I want to enjoy these services I need to hand over some money, and if I don’t, I won’t get what I want!

When Jesus was on earth He came to serve. He came to offer Himself as a sacrifice to others, to meet their needs, and ultimately to die on the cross giving His life in place of ours. He came obediently but willingly, knowing that this was what had to be done. He came to set us free from the bonds of sin. He came to give us salvation, new life, abundant life, eternal life!

All of this is free. We can’t earn this gift, and yet when we accept it we give up everything else. It’s not that we trade what we have for this new life, rather its that we recognize that what we had before was worth nothing compared to knowing Jesus as our Saviour. We step out of darkness into light. We step out of poverty into indescribable riches. We step out of isolation into God’s family. We step out of wanting to be the centre and put God as The Centre of our lives.

This Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the Servant King. The One who came to serve and not be served. The One who came to give up His life so that we might have life. The One who came and emptied Himself of all that He was so that we could be filled with the overflowing riches of God’s love and mercy. I hope you’ll be able to join with us as we gather to honour our King.

Blessings, Pastor Mike