I am thankful to be able to honestly say that my wife is a remarkable cook.  Her skill did not happen overnight nor without a few disasters and some disappointments along the way, but after all those years of practice, she has it down.  Sometimes when we sit down at the table to enjoy the fruit of her labor in the kitchen, I tell her that there is no restaurant anywhere around with better cooking than hers.

There are times, however, when we go out to eat; we pay somebody else to do the cooking and cleaning up.  Admittedly sometimes it is good, while at other times it is a huge let down.  But Miss Gale’s cooking remains top notch in my book.

We have found an eatery not too far from home that usually has really good food.  It is not fancy, just plain and simple—but good.  Last weekend we went there and were not disappointed with the shrimp and oysters.  What a treat!  We even had enough left over for another meal.

As we were finishing our meal, the very nice waitress stopped at our table with some surprising news.  She told us that our meal was taken care of by somebody else and we did not need to pay.  She did not say who paid the tab and to this day we have no idea who it was.  Whether it was the proprietor, an employee, or another customer, we have no clue.  As far as I know, there was no one in the building who owed me a favor, so the gesture was an absolute surprise and totally unexpected.  But from whomever the gift came, it was sincerely appreciated.  (If it was you and you are reading this, “Thanks!” from Gale and me!!)

An undeserved and unearned kindness extended to another is known as grace; it is a gift with no strings attached requiring repayment.  I have not received a bill in the mail demanding that I pay for the meal that we enjoyed last week end because it was taken care of in full; it is an accomplished and settled matter through someone extending an act of grace to us.  They paid what we owed because they could and they were willing.

The greatest demonstration of grace that has ever taken place happened over two thousand years ago as Jesus Christ gave Himself by dying on the cross to pay for our sins.  How grateful we should all be for that and how deeply we should think upon that expression of His grace during this Easter season.  As we are told concerning Christ’s wonderful provision for us in Colossians 1:13-14:  “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (New International Version). 

During the next few days as we journey through this holy season of remembrance, we should be sure to give our Lord thanks for what He did for us as He went to the cross and died in our place so we can have everlasting life.

As we remember what Christ did for sinful humankind, our greatest response to Him should be to accept His offer of forgiveness and allow Him to have full control of our lives.  Sin’s bill is too big for us to pay, but Christ took care of it for us.  It is our part to receive by faith His generous and glorious offer.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).