The Rejected Waterproof Notebook

  A few days ago I woke up very excited to give an atheist friend of mine a specialized waterproof notebook.  I was excited to find this notebook via a Kickstarter campaign that I had joined from the makers of the people who made a waterproof bible a few years earlier.  Since this friend of mine works in the water, at a local pool, and I saw how she constantly got her papers all wet, I knew this would be the perfect gift.  In fact, I had told her about it months before and she seemed excited to get it when it finally came.

So, I got up and went to the pool with waterproof notebook in hand.  I was excited to give this gift and see the joy that would light up my friends face but then something highly unexpected  happened.  She scowled at me and told me she could not take it, “Because it was against the rules” and then she offered to pay me for it, but then declined when she found out how much it was.  I actually verified that it wasn’t against any rules and tried to give it to her and she declined in one of the harshest ways I’ve ever seen.

I was crushed and I was honestly heartbroken.  I was heartbroken because as the giver of the gift, not only was the gift rejected but I felt personally rejected.  There was zero grace in the refusal of the gift and since it completely took me by surprise, it hurt all the more.

Then I started to think about God and how He must feel when people reject Him.  Since much of the world just celebrated the resurrection and death of Christ, I believe many did receive God’s free gift of salvation over this past weekend.  However, I also believe, that just like this friend of mine rejected this very cool waterproof notebook, many continue to reject Christ and continue to dismiss all He has offered them freely.

2 Peter 3:9 says The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.  This is how I know that the gift of salvation and forgiveness of sins and a clean conscience is the desire of Christ for all mankind.

Rejecting a waterproof notebook is one thing, because there is no impact on your eternity.  Rejecting the free gift of salvation is quite another.  My hope and prayer is that if you are someone who has rejected the Giver and the gift of eternal life and the forgiveness of your sins, that you would reconsider.  Jesus loves you and that isn’t a trite statement.  It’s a statement of fact, proven by His death, burial and resurrection.