Years ago, Mike Tyson gave his wife Robin Givens a 24-carat gold bathtub worth $2.3 million—as a Christmas gift. The Hope Diamond was a gift worth $250 million. Christmas gifts can be expensive, yet none of them all together has greater value than the one God gives to those who accept His Son as their Savior. Here is how Peter describes in 1 Peter Ch 1 this priceless gift from God Almighty: “You know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake”. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof of God’s love for humanity. Not only do we see the love of God shown by the voluntary death of Jesus, in his resurrection body we see the gift of an eternal body God promises to all who accept Him—a body not limited to the earthly functions we carry on daily, but a body with superhuman capacities that will last forever. Who in his right mind would reject a gift like that?
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr. is the founder and chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be a leading publisher of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community. Read More
