The best free gift of all

I was glancing through the BBC News website recently and came across a report of a rather unusual incident which had taken place in the Scottish Town of Rutherglen.  Alongside the report was an image showing a long queue at a ‘hole in the wall’ cash machine outside the Rutherglen branch of The Bank of Scotland.  

It appears that the cash machine had developed a glitch, and had begun dispensing extra cash.  As news of this development spread, people began to queue at the machine, each hoping to withdraw their own windfall!   Eventually the police were alerted; they in turn contacted bank officials, who responded by switching off the machine remotely.

The report did not give precise details of how much extra cash had been dispensed, but it did quote a Bank of Scotland official who stated that the branch would "contact any customers who have been affected."  I would have thought that with the current state of Bank of Scotland finances, they could ill afford to be giving away free cash!

As I reflected on the report, I thought about how I would have reacted in those circumstances.  Though the temptation was clear, I am fairly certain that I would have come to the conclusion that it was not right for me to take money which wasn’t mine.  But I realise only too well that I can’t stand in judgement on others who made a different choice.  I am reminded of the gospel story about people who brought a sinful woman before Jesus; they wanted her to be stoned to death in accordance with the law.  But Jesus’ response shocked them into silence: “Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her.”

The stark reality is that there is not one of us who ‘has committed no sin.’  We have no right to stand in judgment over others; God himself is our judge.  We have all at times given in to temptation, that means, of course, that we are ALL guilty and deserving of punishment.  The good news is that in his love for us, Jesus paid the price for our sin, so that we might be forgiven; he offers us the free gift of eternal life through faith in him, and that’s worth more than all the cash in the world (Romans 6:23)!