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Mar 25, 2025 06:00am

A Membership to God’s Grace

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Remember how Sam’s Club used to be for businesses only? In order to shop there, you had to have a business of your own or be a part of a business to get a club card.

I can remember going into Sam’s for the first time with my friend Danae Wherry Scott and her parents. They had a framing business and were part of this elite club. While her parents shopped, she showed me the highlight of Sam’s – the free samples.

🤯😍

It was a dreamland for me! Free food!

And then one day, “Sam” decided you didn’t have to own a business to shop there. I’m sure there were many business owners that just didn’t shop there, and Sam’s wanted to offer their products to more customers. They opened the doors to all people, as long as they had a membership.

Now, all people can partake in the joys of Sam’s Club! They can use their lunch break to peruse the aisles for products they just have in bulk – green beans, toilet paper, paper plates, and toothpaste. We all have the opportunity to try out the free samples and decide if we want to buy the product or if we have enough room for a hot dog combo. All of us can proudly say we’re a member of the club as we scan our items on the way out the door, while we finish our chocolate soft serve ice cream.

For those of us newbies, we wouldn’t want to gloat or brag to the original club members – the business owners – about now getting to be members of this exclusive club. If it wasn’t for them, Sam wouldn’t have created the club and this wonderful shopping experience! Instead, we can all rejoice as they scan our membership card and we fill our buggies with special treasures and finds that can only be found at Sam’s.

Romans 11:15-18
“But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. 18 But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.”

As we move through Romans chapter 11, we hear Paul sharing with the believers in Rome about not only God’s mercy on Israel, but also on everyone.

God chose the Israelites as His people. They were to be set apart, holy, for Him. Salvation was only for the Jews. But when He sent the promised Messiah, His Son Jesus, as a gift of salvation to them, to be the ultimate sacrifice needed, many rejected Him.

So, God opened the doors to the Gentiles. The gospel message of John 3:16 was available to ALL people.

Paul used the example of a beautiful olive tree planted and deeply rooted. Some of the branches did not produce fruit. They were dead. They were cut off from the tree. These were the Jews who rejected Christ. Then, God grafted in wild olive branches – the Gentiles – to be part of the original tree. They would be fruitful! Not because they deserved to be there, but because of the mercy and grace of God.

Paul used this example because the people of that day were familiar with olive trees and the growth process. They worked in the olive groves, they knew the amount of time spent tending to the orchard. And it was a great way to show the new believers how God’s salvation was made available to all.

And to you today, I used the example of Sam’s Club. Silly as that may seem, you get the picture. Isn’t it amazing that God helps us to understand the deep things of salvation and grace from everyday life and experiences?

Whichever example you can relate to, all of us should be thankful for the grace of God that we are allowed to be grafted into the tree of life or become a member of this elite club.

I’ve got my membership, bought by the precious blood of Christ. How about you?

To learn more about Jesus and what It means to follow Him, go to follow.lifeword.org.