Fringe Benefits - Martin Wiles

To open their eyes so they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me. Acts 26:18 NLT

For a middle-school-aged boy, it was the job of a lifetime—regardless of the pay.

My paternal grandfather was an ice cream delivery man. Not the kind who drove through neighborhoods and sold ice cream novelties to eager children, but the type who drove a large truck and delivered bulk items to restaurants and businesses. I’m not sure exactly when I began helping him during the summer, but by the time I was middle school age, I was spending the entire summer with my grandparents and working on the truck with him every day.

For a young boy, the benefits of working on an ice cream truck during the hot summer months were exciting. Each day, when we loaded the truck for the next day’s delivery, I pounced up in the refrigerated truck and stacked the ice cream my grandfather handed me. But the most tantalizing benefits were that my grandfather paid me $20 per week, told me I could eat as much ice cream as I wanted free of charge, and bought my lunch every day.

As the apostle Paul made his defense before King Agrippa, he recounted how God had given him a new mission in life. He was to take the gospel to the Gentiles, who, if they accepted it, would receive many fringe benefits.

As his child, God has opened my eyes to the light. Before accepting Christ as my Savior, the scales of spiritual darkness shaded them. Sin blinded me and held me securely in its chains. I could only do what my sinful nature dictated. I thought I was free, but I was actually a slave. Satan, the god of this world, blinded me. God, however, removed the blinders.

Forgiveness is another fringe benefit. Christ paid for all our sins on Calvary’s cross. No longer will God charge us with them. God placed them on Christ’s account.

Becoming a member of God’s family is a further fringe benefit. We’ve been sanctified—set apart. God has given us the righteousness of Christ. His family is large and eternal. We can enjoy their fellowship now and forever.

Think of the fringe benefits you experience as God’s child.

Father, thank you for the benefits that come with being your child. 

Tweetable: Are you enjoying God's fringe benefits? 

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