I’m sure you often, like me, weigh up the value and worth of product warranties or after-purchase covers. It seems you can’t buy much these days without being offered such add-ons on anything from appliances to tech, gadgets and cars. These policies are presented as giving us added peace of mind; assurance that should the unforeseen happen, then repairs or even a new for old comes our way.
Perhaps I reason it’s because of our ‘throw–away’ culture that this kind of after-sales cover takes away the hassle of often expensive repairs; maybe it’s the increasingly complex tech products that need this extra protection? Or could you be like me in wanting to get your money’s worth and claim where possible to get that feeling of smug contentment cashing in on the risk we’ve taken in forking out that extra premium to safeguard your purchase!
There is a sense in which God’s offer to us, His children, through the gift of His Son, is the complete reality of a new birth or new creation. Christianity doesn’t offer a shoddy repair or a sticking plaster but a new beginning from the inside out.
The only way to be saved and being forgiven and made whole by His offer of new birth and new life is through Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection. It is when we realise our own brokenness, state of bad repair and need of a Saviour that we may then come to our senses and receive God’s promise of a new start: and that is the free gift of God in Jesus His Son.
Of course, this offer of life cost Him everything by His death on a Cross in our place, but the price paid was worth it for the joy of seeing our lives restored, made whole, reconnected with God, and so a new-for-old becomes our reality.
As we consider God’s offer of Himself to give us life, may we receive His peace, hope and love as tokens of His heavenly protection on our earthly lives here and now and for eternity.
Rev Charles Burton
Published in the church magazines, February 2024
Photo from Unsplash