“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23
In this life we’re offered a choice: do we want the payment we deserve or do we want a gift we don’t deserve?
In the criminal justice system, it doesn’t really matter how many good deeds someone does most of the time. If someone commits a crime, he or she will receive the punishment due for that crime regardless of their goodness in every other aspect of life.
Sin works the same way. No matter how many good things we do, because we each also sin at times (in our thoughts, words, actions, or inactions), we inevitably separate ourselves from God. He is perfect, He is holy, and He is just, therefore He cannot permit sin to go unpunished.
What we earn for ourselves is condemnation, wrath, and eternal separation from our perfect and holy God for our rebellion against His good design for life. That’s what we deserve and it’s awful to even contemplate.
The free gift God offers us instead is glorious if we’ll just accept it! If we commit our lives in faith to Jesus Christ, God gives us total forgiveness, He restores our relationship with Him, we are united with Christ at all times, and we enjoy eternal life with Him forever. Like any gift, we must accept it and unwrap it for it to have any value in our lives. Have you accepted God’s gift???