In the mail the other day, I received some coupons offering great percentages off from a store that I frequently shop.  The percentages were different depending on which days you shopped. In the envelope there were also several perfume sampler cards.  I popped them open one by one and waved them in the air to catch their lovely aroma. Usually when I get these cards, the fragrances are far too strong for me, but this time, one of them caught my attention.  I really liked it so I asked for my hubby’s opinion. He is fairly sensitive to fragrance, so when he gave his approval, I began to give the perfume some consideration.

I thought, “Hey, since the perfume cost more than I normally would spend, I could use the 40% off coupon for the purchase.”  But of course, when I checked the back side where they write the exceptions list, much to my dismay, there it was, in super fine print, ‘fragrances excluded’.  Special offers are great as long as there are no exceptions.

Another industry that is known for having exclusions to their deals is the airline business.  We hoard our frequent flyer miles and bonus points only to be told when booking,  your dates are blacked out or you’re limited to booking the worst flight times available in order to use your points.  It’s aggravating.

There is one offer, however, which has absolutely no exclusions, whatsoever.  God made us all an offer of salvation and the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.  “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world, that He even gave His One and Only begotten son, so that whosoever believes and trust in Him as Savior shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 Amplified Version).  When God said, ‘whosoever’, He meant it, no exclusions. If you decide to accept Him today, He will not say, “Oh, sorry, this is a blackout day, you’ll need to try me on another date.” And Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  We don’t have to look a certain way, talk a certain way, have our lives all put together, He takes us just as we are, no exceptions.

I’ve not decided yet if the perfume is worth the full purchase price, but I know and am so grateful that God already decided that you and I are worth the full purchase price.  He paid for us all with His precious son, Jesus…. no exclusions. Amen, and Amen.

Be sure to pass this on and share the greatest offer ever made.