Is My Coverage Paid?

The link above concerns the recent news story of the family whose home burned to the ground after firefighters would not help because the family had not paid the fire protection fee.  This occurrence has caused plenty of controversy and argument with some claiming that this is the beginning of a collapse of society that the tea party will bring about and others claiming this is a symptom of people wanting something for nothing.   Personally, I am not going to wade into the political ramifications of the whole thing.  This event, along with some other things, got me thinking about something bigger.

Recently there have been several deaths in Maine as the result of motor vehicle accidents.  Watching the response people have to the sudden passing of others reminded me of the above story, but with a spiritual twist.

The family in the article had neglected to pay the fire protection fee.  Perhaps they forgot.  Perhaps they just didn't really think about it.  Maybe they figured they wouldn't need it and wanted to save the money.  For whatever reason, the fee wasn't paid, but that didn't stop them from calling the fire department once they did have the urgent need.  Unfortunately, they were unprepared and didn't have the protection they thought they had.

That is true of a lot of people spiritually.  They really don't think too much about a relationship with God and spiritual things.  Maybe they forget, maybe they just don't think about it, or maybe they don't feel they need it.  That is until tragedy strikes.  Suddenly all the talk is about the afterlife.  Everyone talks about how the person is "in a better place" or "looking down on us" or engaging in whatever their favorite activity is, except now in heaven.  This despite the fact that the deceased may have never really paid any attention to the things of God while on earth, living their life as if God was not a major factor.

I don't want to be unfeeling, but this seems even more unwise than not making sure you have proper fire protection, insurance protection, etc.  Why do we as humans so often ignore God and what He says in His Word about how to know you will be with Him forever.  God is ignored and no preparation is given, yet it is assumed that when the need arises, it will just be there.   I fear deeply that many will end up watching life burn.

The extra tragedy in all this is that the fee has been paid.  We do not have to pay the fee, Jesus did on the cross.  All we have to do is call in and claim the payment on our account.  Too often, people assume that just by living and being a mostly good person, that they have paid the fee themselves and they are covered.  If only that were true, but that is not what the Bible says.  Everyone quotes John 3:16, but the whole passage is important.

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. (John 3:16-18 MSG)

I too wish that coverage was automatic, it was in the Garden of Eden. But our father, Adam, cancelled his automatic coverage, and since that time, man has needed to return to God and, based on God's payment of the price, reclaim the coverage. Praise God that Jesus paid. Now let us each make sure we have asked for his payment to be applied to us.