The Difference

By David A. Sargent

    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:

1. The debt is far greater.  In fact, it is too great for any of us to pay with our own resources.
2. Each of us owes this unpayable debt.
3. The matter of the debt has eternal implications.
4. Only one Person could pay this debt.  He willingly did so for each of us.
5. 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, minister for the Church of Christ at Creekwood in Mobile, Alabama, is also the editor of an electronic devotional entitled "Living Water." To learn more about this excellent resource contact David via their website: http://www.creekwoodcc.org

* 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