Stuff appears on my calendar that I have never heard of. The most recent was “National Use Your Gift Card Day.”  The third Saturday of January is the day you are encouraged to use the gift cards you received for Christmas if you have not already done so.  It was started in 2020 by Tracy Tilson. She discovered that nearly $100 billion per year is spent on holiday gift cards, but as much as 3% of the cards will never get redeemed. So she promoted the idea and it gained traction in the retail industry, with major chains supporting the holiday.

Can you imagine someone getting a gift card and not using it? People do it all the time. And sadly, the same is true for so many people when it comes the to gift God offers.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In confirmation class, I often used this illustration that went something like this. Imagine if I were to take out a wad of $100 bills right now and place one in front of each and every one of you. I would tell you that is yours. It is a gift from me. You didn’t earn it. It is something I am giving you. At the end of class, some of you pick up the $100 bill and take it with you. Others leave it sitting on the table. Some of those who took the money home stuck it in a drawer and forgot about it. Others actually spent the money. So who got the benefit of the offer? Who missed out? Would it make sense to leave it on the table? Or take it but not use it? Why would you not take advantage of that gift? Yet that is exactly what most of the world does with the gift God gave them in Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8–9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.

People will hear the message that God let Jesus die for the sins of the world, and that you get the benefit of what He earned by believing in Him. But they reject it, they say it is fantasy, or they say it is too easy and too good to be true. The offer is there from God, there for the taking. But they leave it on the table.

You have received the greatest “gift card” you could ever hope to get. A “get out of hell free” card, a “get into heaven free” card. All because of what Jesus did for you. Don’t forget to use your gift card.

I just remembered that Cheryl and I got a gift card for Dairy Queen for Christmas. We will be using that today.