An
elderly man, who is also a veteran, was at the grocery store register
purchasing his groceries when he realized he didn’t have enough money to
cover all of the items. The veteran has used up a $25 grocery store
gift card but still owed $3 more to obtain the rest of the things that
he needed.
His cashier, Briar Poirier, from Oxford, Massachusetts, said, “I’ve got
this,” and he pulled out his own wallet to get the money to pay the
difference. “The
gentleman had a couple basic necessities and looked like he was a little
down on his luck and the man fought for our country, fought for our
freedoms,” Poirier told WBZ. “It’s the least I could do for him.”
Renee Falcioni, from Killingly,
Connecticut, witnessed Poirier’s act of compassion. She said she saw
the veteran’s eyes “light up” at Poirer’s deed. “He shook his hand and
said thank you and had a big smile from ear to ear,” Falcioni told WBZ.
Falcioni
also posted about Poirier’s kindness on Facebook. Her post received
thousands of likes and hundreds of comments and shares. Falcioni
commented: “Thank you Briar for being such an amazing young man and a
big thank you to your parents for raising such an amazing, kind-hearted,
conscientious, and caring young man!!!”
May I turn your attention to another act of compassion that has a few
similarities to Poirier’s act of kindness? There are some differences
in the actions as well:
-
The debt
is far greater. In fact, it is too great for any of us to pay with
our own resources.
-
Each of us
owes this unpayable debt.
-
The matter
of the debt has eternal implications.
-
Only one
Person could pay this debt. He willingly did so for each of us.
-
He paid
this debt for us, not because we were good or kind or merited the
repayment in some way.
The debt that each of us
has and cannot repay is the debt of sin (Romans 3:23). None of us has
the resources to pay the debt ourselves, for sin is an offense to a Holy
God (Isaiah 59:1-2). But God loves each of us so much that He gave His
Son Jesus to pay the debt of our sin so that we can be reconciled to Him
(John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Jesus paid the debt for us with His
life; He died on the cross for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus
did this for us when we were weak and unable to pay the debt, sinners
offending the Holy God, and even enemies in rebellion against Him
(Romans 5:6-10). The wonderful news is that if we accept His offer of
salvation, He will give us eternal life. If we reject His offer, we
will receive eternal destruction (Matthew 7:13-14; Romans 6:23).
God will save and give eternal life to those who
place their faith
and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from
their sins in repentance
(Acts 17:30-31),
confess Jesus
before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are
baptized (immersed) into Christ for the
forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will continue to cleanse from sin
those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).
Jesus’ death, burial,
and resurrection make all of the “difference” in our lives now and
forever. Won’t YOU accept His offer of salvation and eternal
life?
-- David A. Sargent
* Information gleaned from “Store
employee pays veteran's grocery bill: 'The least I could do'” by Ann W.
Schmidt of Fox News,
www.foxnews.com
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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