Gift Cards and the Gospel

I have a little sticket on my desk at work with my wishlist on it. It's not terribly long, and I don't sit and sigh over the items thereon, but I do desire the things when the means are available. Thing # 1 on that list is a pair of brown cordoroy pants.

I went with some girls from my caregroup to a Ladies Meeting at the Fairfaix Soveriegn Grace Church last Saturday. The meeting and message were GREAT (download the message for March 25th here.) Before the message, though, they always play some games. This meeting they did give-aways. The give-aways were gift cards.

The way they decided who would win was they drew a number to identify a section of the audience (I was in section 2), then a number to identify the row of that section (I was row 7), then a final number to identify the seat in that row (I was seat 6). Whoever was in that specified seat won a gift card.

There were four gift cards, and on the third drawing 2 was called (and a gentle hum rose up from my section), then 7 was called (and all the girls in my row started squirming and fluttering a little) then 6 was called.

Honestly? I wasn't paying much attention. I wasn't feeling my best and I never win these kinds of things anyway. So when the girls in my group started hissing "Kari! That's you! That's you!" it took me a minute to get what was going on. But I did, and clutzed my way to the aisle to retrieve a $25 gift card to Old Navy.

I'm sure I blushed as I took it. I was really quite humbled. "Why me?" I silently asked God. I stuck it in my bag, freshly aware of how kind God was. I almost cried. (Kinda sappy sounding, I know, but really, all I could think about was that those numbers weren't random - God is soveriegn and he'd planned for me to recieve this little present. That's an intimately involved God! Yet a gift card is nothing compared to the gift of salvation granted me when Christ died in my place...then I started thinking of the gospel...and God's holiness...and my sinfulness... Are you starting to see why I was so moved? I was so glad for worship when it came time.)

We went out to lunch after the meeting ended and went home. I went shopping later that night to spend the gift card. I always check the clearance rack first - and wouldn't you know there were a pair of brown cordoroys, in my size, for half off? I could've cried right there...but I wanted until after I'd tried them on and they fit. They even had this awesome embroidered kabala design on the back pockets, lending a yoga-like touch to the get-up. I even adored the hemp-colored thread used on every seam. And because they were half off, I still had money left over to buy something fun - I chose a big hobo bag, which my husband has christened "the sack".

Every time I wear those cords or pick up my "sack", I find myself thinking of how God paid the price for them. I recieved them at no cost to myself. He did the same thing to purches my salvation - another thing I recieved at no cost to myself. What an amazing gift.