For many children, going to the library is an outing they look forward to with pleasure. Reading is one way to take a trip to some far-off land or perhaps to a time long ago.
My children love to bring home books about animals. They like to read stories about brave dogs, smart cats and wild animals of all kinds. Once they checked out a book of true bear stories. Those stories were scary! Their next hike in the mountains in bear country was a real adventure after reading that people can never know for sure what a bear will do.
Not all libraries are in buildings. When I was young, our library came to us on wheels. It was called a Bookmobile and looked like a large van. How we loved to climb the steps and choose our favorite books from those crowded shelves!
At our library, we can check out books for two weeks. However, they will not be marked “overdue” until after three weeks. Why is that? The librarians call that third week a “grace period.” They know how difficult it is to finish a long book in just two weeks. They also know how easy it is to lose books under the sofa or forget them in a backpack. The librarians give everyone an extra week to make sure they return all of their borrowed books. If after the third week we still don’t get them all returned, we must pay a fine.
At our house, we sometimes misplace a book and must pay the fine of $1.00 when we return it after the third week. Has this ever happened to you? Once we lost a small book. We searched all over the house, but never found that book. The grace period had passed, and we had to pay for the book - a fine of $10.00. We knew the fine was fair since the book was not ours, and we had lost it. We try to be more careful now to return all borrowed books on time.
Did you know that the best Book of all tells us about a “grace period”? We learn from reading the Bible that we are living in the day of grace. We also learn that this day-of-grace period will not last forever. We are not told how long it will be. It has already lasted almost 2000 years, but it could end today!
Why is God giving us a grace period? Because He wants each of us to be saved from our sins before it is too late, or we will have to pay a terrible fine. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). The Bible tells us we have all sinned, and God must punish sin. But God loves us so much that He provided a substitute to pay this fine and die for us. That blessed substitute was His very own Son, Jesus Christ. If we believe He died for our sins, we will be saved from the punishment we deserve and go to live with the Lord Jesus in heaven when we leave this earth, rather than paying that awful fine in hell.
Next time you visit your town or school library and the librarian tells you when your books are due, remember, God’s “due date” will be here very soon. Don’t wait any longer. God’s offer for you to be saved from your sins may not last much longer. “Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:22(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2)). Soon the door will be shut, and the grace period for sinners to be saved will be over. “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:66Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: (Isaiah 55:6)). “They that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut” (Matthew 25:1010And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. (Matthew 25:10)).
ML-01/07/2001