Packing Boxes

If I was the one who packed the box, I should be responsible for moving it.

Titus 3:1-15

Reference:  v.5a  He (Jesus) saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. (NIV Bible)

Explore:  We will be moving house soon so I have already started to pack some boxes.  When looking around our home I was amazed to see how many books I had accumulated over the years.  As these were not items I use on a daily basis I thought this would be a good place to begin my packing.  I found a good sturdy box in the garage and started piling all my books into it.  In my bookshelf I still had some childhood tales, some novels from high school and lots of books that I had read over Summer breaks.  I was barely through two shelves before the box was full.  I realised that this was maybe going to take a few more boxes than I had thought.  However, when I went to move the box out of the way I realised that it was very difficult to move.  It was like the paper had turned to lead as soon as it had entered the box and I struggled to move it even an inch.  My second realisation was that I had been filling this box from the bookshelf on our second floor.  If it was a challenge to move this heavy box a couple of feet, what was it going to be like moving it downstairs?!  After trying to pull and shuffle the box a little further I had almost resigned to the fact that I was going to have to take half of the books out and repack them into a completely new box.  But then I remembered: my husband and I had decided to get some removalists in to help us move our bigger heavy items.  I had just added another item to their list!  With all their trolleys and strong muscles they would be able to get the box down the stairs with ease and it would no longer be my burden.

Application:  Really, if I was the one who packed the box, I should be responsible for moving it.  I mean, it has all of my belongings in it, doesn’t it?  I guess the same should go for our redemption too.  If I have done the wrong thing I should be the one that takes responsibility for my actions.  However, when it comes to sin, Jesus is like the removalists in my packing story.  Even though He did nothing wrong, because of His mercy, Jesus has paid the price for our sin.  It is not through any of our efforts that we are saved and can have a close relationship with God, but through Jesus’ love and mercy that we are saved.  Often we think that if we do this or don’t do that God will forgive us of our sins.  However, it is only through the sacrifice of Jesus that we can come close to God.  Although we don’t deserve it, Jesus has carried all our burdens for us.

Prayer:   Lord, the love You have shown for me is mind blowing.  Thank you for paying the price for me.  Amen.

What are some of the sins you have packed into your life?  Hand them over to Jesus who has already paid the price.

Titus