A few months ago, I purchased a cute little round table for our kitchen, in anticipation of hosting all five of our grandchildren. The tall pub-height table with two barstools just wasn’t going to work. Obviously, this wasn’t “high-end” furniture; I had to screw on the legs, but it worked well in the space and would serve its purpose.

Until it didn’t.

As I cleared off the remains of five little messy eaters, the very first time we used it, I noticed that a bit of spilled water had caused the varnish to bubble up and had left a pretty noticeable defect in the finish. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed, so I reached out to customer service at Target to see what they could do about my experience.

I have to say, they went above and beyond. This was an online purchase, delivered free to my door, and paid for with my Target Red Card. After receiving pictures of the problem, they gave me a full refund for the entire amount of the purchase, credited back to my card. They didn’t even make me return the table; they said, “Keep it and use it, or donate it.”

I decided I could live with the bubble, so for the past few weeks, any time I need to make a purchase at Target, I simply scan my Red Card against the credit that has been applied to my account. I walk out of the store essentially having paid nothing.

That’s a pretty cool feeling – to be able to get what I need without having to worry if I’ve got enough left in our household budget. The unfortunate thing is, that credit is going to be all used up before too long.

I’m so glad my “credit” with God never runs out.

You see, I owed a great debt. My sins had purchased an eternal balance that I could never pay. Having entered this world with a fallen human nature, some pretty serious defects had shown up. The beautiful finish on my heart, mind, and soul that my Creator had intended to last forever was marred by my own wrong choices, a result of the broken relationship I inherited from my first parents, Adam and Eve.

Jesus came to not only wipe out my debt but to give us an abundant, overflowing, never-ending source of credit … His righteousness, credited to our account. Now, I can draw on that account freely and without measure.

Unlimited grace for every trial.

Unlimited mercy for all suffering.

Unlimited forgiveness for all sins.

Unlimited love for all emptiness.

Unlimited protection for all fears.

Unlimited provision for all needs.

Unlimited power because the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, lives in me.

This source of life will never run out, and I can draw on His life for every need I’ll ever have in this life and the next – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

And the bill never comes due, because Jesus already paid it in full, without limit.

In 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul admonished the believers who had grown a bit arrogant and self-sufficient, boasting about their gifts and competing about the wisdom they had from God. For what do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

Everything we have is a gift from God, and we are completely dependent on His good will for our survival. But you say, “No, I worked hard. I made good choices. I did this.” Really? Who gives you breath in your lungs and keeps your heart beating so that you can get out of bed every morning? Who made the muscles in your body work together so that you could walk? Who created your mind and gave you the intellect to make decisions and learn and grow? Who put a soul inside your body? Who gave you the ability to understand language and communicate?

What do you have that you did not receive?

What do you need that God cannot provide?

How silly would it have been for me to forget about the credit I received from Target and let it go to waste? It could have been a blessing that I never enjoyed. In the same way, do we ever live stingy, frugal lives as believers, never drawing on the abundant spiritual provisions Jesus came to provide? God has given us our very lives, and when we come to faith in Jesus, we are granted access to the unlimited riches of glory (Ephesians 3:16). All that we have and all that we need we received from the good and gracious hand of the Creator who loves us and made us to worship Him and enjoy a relationship with Him.

It won’t be long before Target’s goodwill will end for me. They’ll say, “That’s it for you. If you want anything else from us, you’ll have to pay the cost.”

I’m so thankful our credit with God will never expire. Draw on it freely, dear child of God. The price has already been paid.

Ephesians 3:14-21 – For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.