At my age, I’ve witnessed the development of more cultural phenomena than I could possibly have imagined. Among the many that have emerged in the past few decades has been the explosive growth and proliferation of an activity that has probably existed nearly as long as man has. The activity I’m referring to involves the commercial application of picking up something in one place, transporting it to another place, and then depositing it there. We encapsulate all the actions and activities associated with that procedure as the “delivery” process and at this point, virtually everyone in the world has come to depend on it in one way or another.  

A Real Game Changer ~
Combining the internet with the concept of delivery was a game changer of monumental proportions. Almost everyone blessed with having a front door has at some point found a package lying nearby with one of those smiling Amazon logos on it. Or if not that, at least opened that door to greet some smiling guy or gal standing there with a pizza box in their hand, or maybe holding a bag with some other purportedly nourishing concoction. The possibility of delivery alone was compelling enough, but adding the tantalizing word “free” made it an attention magnet that became one of the most prevalent and effective marketing tools in our lifetime. That simple little two-word phrase brings together two concepts that we’ve grown to cherish. 

The first, of course, is our natural love for the idea of getting something for nothing. When someone offers us an item or service we consider worthwhile and then tells us that we don’t have to pay for it, that love for the idea of gifts we learned early on gets activated. The offer of a valuable benefit with no expenditure of time, effort, or money can be a powerful incentive. But as all of us realize when we think about it, “free delivery” isn’t actually free at all.

Nobody Works for Nothing ~
Imagine telling one of those Prime delivery drivers how much we appreciated them loading the truck, driving all those miles, and then toting those packages up to peoples’ porches and doing all that while being paid absolutely nothing. He or she might just assume we were trying to be funny and chuckle a bit – or they might just think we’re mentally unstable and look around to see if there’s a caretaker nearby. Unless it’s for some kind of charity or simply kind heartedness, nobody works for nothing. Workers might complain that their wage or salary is unfair, but if they weren’t being paid, they wouldn’t show up. 

So, we can be confident in concluding that “free delivery” really isn’t free at all. At some point and in some way, the cost always has to be paid by someone, and in virtually every case, the cost is ultimately absorbed by the one who thinks it’s free. But we’re not here to discuss marketing strategies or point out ways we disguise the costs we absorb for certain things in order to feel better about things we buy and/or activities we engage in. What concerns us today is a delivery process without which we would have no relationship with God at all. In the system He designed, we’re not the recipients of some spiritual product we ordered. In God’s delivery process we are the product being delivered, and in light of that, there are some things we ought to consider. 

A Connection Emerges ~
As we’ve pointed out in previous posts, we find ourselves in the midst of a historical and spiritual point in our nation’s history more potentially significant than any in my lifetime. There’s a spiritual awakening going on among young people around the world that is undeniable. And that movement is accompanied by a corresponding atmosphere of revival spreading through multitudes of our churches, college campuses, and high schools. And though talking about our penchant for having things delivered seems incongruent, this powerful outpouring of God’s Spirit reminds me that there are some things about God’s approach to delivery that we would do well to consider. And with eloquent simplicity, the Apostle Paul gives us a good place to start. He said:

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13–14 NKJV)

Once we’ve made a decision to order something to be delivered around our house, there are at least two things that come into focus right away, our clocks and calendars. When I’ve finally pulled the trigger and bought something, I want to know how soon I can get my hands on it. So when it comes to  projected delivery times, I don’t want to be thinking in terms like the average life expectancy for people my age. I want to know which day and what time I can expect whatever I bought to be in my hands. The Living God, it turns out, is a lot more that way than I am. He wants what He paid for to be in His hands immediately, and He designed His delivery system to do exactly that. 

Package Delivered ~
The primary verb in Paul’s grand declaration quoted above is stated in past tense. Each of us who has confessed and renounced our sins and, by faith, declared the risen Christ as our Savior and Lord has already been delivered. We have been conveyed from one situation to another, and it didn’t take a box truck and a uniformed driver to do it. It took the last breath from the divine, tortured body of the world’s only perfect human to break this world’s grip on us. Then the awesome power of the Living God Himself moved in for the final leg of the journey. He restored that mangled body and filled those lungs again. Then He rolled that grave stone away and put us in those nail scarred hands – package delivered, and in His grasp . . . forever. 

But there are two quick points we want to emphasize as we consider what God has done with and for us. The first is that while being delivered from the power of darkness is an incredibly wonderful thing, it isn’t the only thing. It’s more encouraging than words can say that Jesus has freed us, and we are no longer prisoners to the evil one’s lies and deceitful, seductive temptations, but we weren’t just delivered from something. We were delivered to something. 

Waiting for Our Arrival ~
God knew from the beginning, of course, that there’s really no such thing as “free delivery” and that if He was to have us, the cost of  “conveying” us to Himself would have to be included. But He loved us and was willing to pay the awful price to have us because we were specifically designed and equipped to do things that are important to Him. And though we might not have realized it when we came to Jesus, God was already anxiously waiting to get His hands on us. 

His intention when He delivered us was to dispatch us as ambassadors, representatives, emissaries of Jesus’ Kingdom here and now. He wants us to be part of transforming this violent, hateful world obsessed with suffering and death and proclaim that deliverance is possible for anyone and everyone. So let’s let Him have what He ordered on purpose and paid for in full.

Now, one final thought . . . The Greek word for delivered [Greek rhúomai] is used to indicate snatching someone from danger or rescuing them from peril, even dragging them along the ground. One of those things is actually something we share with those boxes we get from Amazon. When we were lifted from that eternally dark, hopeless place where God found us, He, and He alone, “placed” into the loving hands of Jesus. We helped just as much with that delivery as those packages helped get themselves all the way from the factory into your hands. So, let’s let God have total access to what Jesus died to redeem in us – and let’s be part of His revival – and not just as observers.

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • • What concerns us today is a delivery process without which we would have no relationship with God at all. In the system He designed, we’re not the recipients of some spiritual product we ordered. In God’s delivery process we are the product being delivered. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
    • I want to know which day and time I can expect whatever I bought to be in my hands. The Living God, it turns out, is a lot more that way than I am. He wants what He paid for to be in His hands immediately, and He designed His delivery system to do exactly that. @GallaghersPen, Click here to Tweet)
    • The awesome power of the Living God moved in for the final leg of the journey. He restored that mangled body, filled those lungs again. He rolled that grave stone away and put us in those nail scarred hands. Package delivered, in His grasp, forever! @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 
    • It’s more encouraging than words can say that Jesus has freed us! – We’re no longer prisoners to the evil one’s lies and deceitful, seductive temptations, but we weren’t  just delivered from something. We were delivered to something! @GallaghersPen, Click here to Tweet)  
    • When He delivered us, God’s intention was to dispatch us as ambassadors, representatives, emissaries of Jesus’ Kingdom here and now, to be part of transforming a violent, hateful world obsessed with suffering, death, proclaiming deliverance is possible for anyone, everyone. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
    • God knew there’s no such thing as free delivery.  If He was to have us, the cost of  “conveying” us to Himself must be included. In His love, He was willing to pay the awful price because we were specifically designed and equipped to do things important to Him. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 

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