If someone offers you eternal life and endless riches what you would you do?
Would you be a fool to turn down such an offer? I say yes.
Jesus died on the cross that we might have eternal life. He offers this gift at great cost: his own shed blood.
Before His death in John 14, Jesus issued his offer when he said:
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
He offers eternal life if we just open our hearts to Him and believe. The most memorable verse of all time, John 3:16, confirms His gracious offer.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. … For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
My Dad Accepted Christ’s Offer of Salvation
My dad went to heaven in 1999 a full three years before the birth of my daughter. He preached Jesus his whole life.
He loved to tell the story of Christ’s promise of eternal life to all who listened, but he only accepted that offer in 1985. When he brought us into the living room to announce his decision, he sat with us around the coffee table with the Bible open.
We were shocked to hear him say that he only recently became born again. My dad preached a works doctrine for 10 years in churches in Georgia and South Carolina, but he was not truly saved. He did not understand that the Gospel story involved grace, forgiveness, and faith.
“I thought I was saved for years because I worked hard to be good and I believed I could work my way to heaven,” I remember him telling us. “But I can’t. Jesus offers heaven only if we accept Him as our Savior. We cannot work our way to heaven or ever be good enough. We have to bow our heads and confess our sins. Jesus died for us to give us the gift of salvation and eternal life.”
He lived the rest of his life striving to serve God. He even went to Bible school for a semester.
He accepted Jesus’ offer of salvation. Now, he is spending eternal life in heaven with his grandchildren.
Will you accept Jesus’ offer of salvation today?
This post was also written for the Five Minute Friday Community where today’s prompt was offer.
Read more of my A to Z for Spiritual Redemption. My other posts include:
- #LMMLinkup: A is for Acceptance
- #AtoZChallenge: B is for Believe
- #AtoZChallenge: C is for Cross
- #AtoZChallenge: D is For Devotion
Note: I will link this post with many of the blog parties listed on my Linkup Parties page. Be sure to check it out. I update it often.
Thank you for sharing your Dad’s story with us. It must have been amazing to see his transformation from being works-based to understanding grace. I hope you have a lovely day!
So beautiful. Jesus is so good to open our eyes, to lead us gently and patiently into His arms. Praise Him for leading your Dad to salvation and for the hope we carry in Jesus. I am so sorry for all your earthly loss. May God continue to breathe comfort and hope into you.
I gave my life to Jesus as a four year old, but it’s only in returning as a Prodigal daughter that I began to realize how tightly I was clinging to my own inadequacy, instead of to the Cross. Now, God is teaching me to unclench my fingers and to lean into Him in my weakness. It’s a daily learning and growing.
Anna, I will pray for you as you continue your journey with Christ. Thanks for sharing.
John 3:16-17!! Jesus truly did give us the greatest offering. We were thinking along similar lines today.
Tara, I am so glad you stopped by. I tried to find your post. I will look again today. Thank you so much for your support.
What a powerful testimony of your dad. We worked in missions for a number of years and still carry the same message now that we carried then: “It’s not about Religion, it’s about Relationship”… because it is so easy to get wrapped up in works and rote activity, forgetting the power of relationship and true salvation. What a wonderful blessing which was multiplied to all of you when your dad humbled himself with such a powerful profession!
Amanda, thank you for your kind words. I had not thought of my dad humbling himself as you describe, but now I do see that in him. He wanted to ensure that his children knew the true Gospel.