Signed, Grace

Your doorbell rings. When you open the door there is a gold envelope sitting on the doorstep. You open the invitation:


Dear Friend,

You are invited
To a celebration of life.
Although you are not required to attend,
Your life will forever be changed if you choose to.
The deepest needs of your heart will be fulfilled at this celebration.
One will take your place in death,
So that you will never have to die.
You will be saved this day.
You can’t miss it.

Location: At the Cross

Time: Now

Signed,
Grace


“What in the world does this mean? I’m invited to a ‘celebration of life?’ I’ll be changed forever and will live forever? ‘One will take my place in death? I will be saved this day?’ There are no directions, and the time is now. How will I find the Cross?”

You are intrigued by this invitation. You can’t get it out of your head. You decide the only way to find the Cross is to search for it. To your surprise, you open your front door to find hundreds if not thousands walking down the street with the same gold envelopes in hand. Joining in the masses you walk briskly in anticipation of the destination.

After some time, you reach your goal. A line has formed that ends at, what appears to be the Cross. As you inch closer, you notice that those who have gone before you return with tears running down their cheeks, their hearts filled with an obvious joy and eyes filled with a hope unlike you’ve ever seen. Your heart beats out of your chest in anticipation for what you will soon experience.

Drawing closer, you see that it’s not just a lonely Cross, rather there’s a man hanging in obvious pain, covered in blood. “This must be the man who is dying so that I won’t have to,” you think to yourself. A lump forms in your throat and tears well up in your eyes.

Your time has come. You step up and slowly look up into the the man’s eyes. The One who hangs before you stares back with eyes filled with a compassion and forgiveness that you will never fully be able to explain.

His gentle eyes draw you close. As a tear runs down his bloody face, he calls you by name. Your knees buckle, falling face first before the Cross.

After a moment, the man utters, “Thank you for accepting the invitation that Grace sent to you. Today I will breathe my last, so that you will never have to. Today I will forgive every wrong thing you have ever done, and will remember those you commit tomorrow no more. Today I give a gift of the Holy Spirit. And with this gift you will never be the same. Return home and tell others about me. We will see each other again soon. I love you.”

You begin weeping relentlessly. Impulsively, you crawl towards the foot of the Cross, kissing His legs and His feet. You back away far enough to look into His compassionate eyes once more. Composing yourself, you ask, “I owe my life to you. Who should I tell others is the One who saved me?”

“Tell them that I Am The Great I Am. I Am The Way, I Am The Truth and The Life. I Am the One who died so that they would not have to. I Am their Friend. I Am Jesus.”

As you walk back home, you too perceive that you are now one of those people who have been changed. You glance down at your shirt, noticing that it has been stained with the blood of the One who saved you.

You thank Grace for your invitation. You have been changed…forever.