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Once upon a time, there were two men who each had a son.

They were very good friends and often did things together socially.

There was one problem, though. One of the boys was a brilliant lad…

...But the other one was.. Shall we say, not so brilliant.

While the one boy was continually growing in talent and ability…

...the other lad seemed to have a knack for finding trouble.

Then one day the two boys were playing in the ocean.

Unfortunately, the troublesome youth swam out too far and began to drown.

The brilliant lad immediately came to the rescue…

...And through great effort, saved his friend.

However, in the process, he himself… drowned.

The father of the troublesome youth tried to comfort the other father.

“Boy! I’m really sorry about what happened.”

“Let me make it up to you.”

“Here’s two bucks.”

Sounds silly? Of course it does

“How about three?”

“Will three bucks cover the loss of your son?”

Yet how many of us go through life trying to buy God’s favor with our efforts?

“How about $4.50”

God’s only son, Jesus Christ, died to save us. There is no amount of money or effort we could pay that would cover the cost of the sacrifice.

The only thing we can do to gain God’s favor is to repent of our sins- that Jesus died for- and trust Jesus Christ as our personal savior from sin and its eternal consequences.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

You could never repay God for giving His son to take the judgement for your sins. God knew that all along…

“God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us… He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life.” (Romans 5:8, 4:25)

Now you’ve got a choice! The sin that separates you from God need no longer keep you away. Christ’s sacrificial death paved the way for you to become one of God’s own children...forgiven, with new life that comes with knowing Him personally.

“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified (declared right with God), and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:9, 10)

What’s your choice… your efforts or God’s way?

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