The Whole Package

As seen in the HEARTbeat and Village Voice

The Whole Package

“Some settling of contents may have occurred during shipping and handling.”  Grab any cereal box and these words will appear on the side.  Open the cereal box, and it certainly looks like you’ve paid for less than a full box!  The manufacturers saw it necessary to put a disclaimer on the side of the box because of the settling of contents.  However, if you close the inside wrapper, close the lid, and shake vigorously.  A re-examination of the contents makes it appear it (the contents) has magically grown.   This isn’t magic, as all that has happened is you’ve re-distributed the air from the top of the box down into the contents to make it appear full again.  

Sometimes when we purchase things, we don’t get everything we think we’ve paid for.  Take for example purchasing a new automobile.  If you go to the manufacturer’s website and choose the “build your own” option, you can build the auto you exactly want.  But, in the process of choosing options, notice one of your choices, i.e. not standard equipment, are the floor mats!  Yes, what was once standard equipment on new cars and trucks has now become optional equipment.  To receive the fullness of what used to be included, we now have to pay extra.  In other words, you do not get everything you think you’re getting!

In Christ, there is no halfway; there is only completeness.  The mission on which God the Father sent His Son was not a halfway mission; it was one of fullness.  Jesus would be a sacrifice for the sins of the world, in accordance with the Law.  When Jesus freely gave His life for us, it wasn’t just for our big sins.  Jesus didn’t leave the little sins for us to atone for our own (which we cannot).  He died for all sins; what we call the big sins as well as what we perceive as small sins.  You see, sin is sin to God.  There is no classifying, no grading, no weighing – it is all sin.  In other words, in God’s eyes, there is no settling of contents during shipping and handling!

Jesus paid the price for our sins completely.  We don’t get less than a full box, nor do we have options not included in His sacrifice.  Jesus paid for it all with His blood.  When we give our lives to Him, rest assured we are covered with the fullness of His sacrifice, which does not come with any disclaimers.  As the old hymn says, “Jesus paid it all; all to Him I owe.”  Walk this week in the confidence of being cleansed of sin, because Jesus paid the price in full!