
A friend of mine listed his 75 gallon fish tank on Craigslist to include pump, hoses, and all parts and accessories. It was free and all you had to do was come and pick it up. He was remodeling his home and cleaning out rooms and wanted the tank, which was fabulous to just go to a good home. He wanted it to be a blessing to someone.
A woman answered with the first email in and asked the approximate dimension of the tank. My friend supplied her with the dimensions. Then in a few days she sent another email asking what it weighs and wondered if her teenage son would be able to lift it. My friend replied and ask how “beefy” her kid is, also noting that most physically fit teenage boys would be able to help her load it. In another day or two she sent another email asking if it would fit in the back of a certain type of vehicle. My friend had sent dimensions and approximate weight info previously.
So this continued on for another two weeks and every few days the woman would email with additional questions and some of the same she had already asked. She at one point ask my friend to deliver the free tank. He said he would not be able to do that. She continued to send email questions. She would not set a time and date to see or pick up the tank.
Finally my friend responded to the second email from a soldier at our local base. They young man asked a few questions, said he could borrow a pick up and would be there in 45 minutes. My friend said, “Come and get it.”
An email was sent to the first woman letting her know the tank was no longer available. She replied with a scathing, and angry, name-calling email. Wow. She had two or three weeks to come get the tank. Every other day, there was something that stopped her. She never committed to simply pick it up.
Do we let this happen to the good in our lives? Do we ask God for something and then never accept it? Some people put things off. Some people do things right away. Maybe this is about personality type. What is with the anger and telling someone off who spent two or three weeks trying to give you something that you wanted absolutely free?
The celebration of Easter has just passed. God sent redemption and hope to an angry, hurting world. It cost him dearly, but to us it is free.
Do we find a reason every day to not accept the good he has for us, or this amazing gift of redemption? Do we have questions about it we need to explore?