Thought for the Day – Thurs 11th July 2013

Transcript of Thought for the Day, broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster on Thursday 11th July 2013

The Fax Machine

How would you like a device that would completely change your life, revolutionise your business, and save you a fortune in time and productivity? It was the opening line of the sales pitch being given to me back in the nineteen eighties. I was standing in a Christian Bookshop, and the man was trying to persuade me to invest in the latest technology, a thing called a fax machine.

I was sceptical to say the least. I doubted the grand claims being made about this new device. How on earth could people send documents to me over a phone line, – how many people would want to have this device, and what use would it be to me if I had one, and all my suppliers and customers didn’t? No, I wasn’t at all persuaded, and the salesman left the shop with no order that day.

How wrong I was. We now know that the fax machine quickly caught on and soon became obligatory for every business, and gained lots of personal users too. It got better as time went on, and the first old glossy rolls of sticky paper gave way to plain paper faxes, and later on to Internet faxing. The prices dropped dramatically and as technology developed even further the fax machine soon became yesterday’s news. Maybe I should have listened more carefully to the salesman.

Now, I’m no salesman, and I don’t have any product to push, and I’m certainly not on commission, but I do want to tell you about something that will revolutionise everything for you; your home life, your business life and your future outlook. It’s not a device, its a completely new life. St Paul wrote:
‘…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come’

How can this be? The key lies in the phrase, ‘in Christ’. – Simply by trusting in what Jesus did for sinners on the Cross, where he died in our place, taking our sin upon himself, offering up his life for ours. What a change that makes! A new life, a new leader, a new love, the peace of God dwelling in our hearts, and the prospect of a heavenly home for all eternity. It’s an amazing package, a complete revolution of life for all those who come to Him.

Oh, and by the way, the life-changing fax machine, back in those early days, was almost one thousand pounds to buy, plus all the consumables. God’s gift to you in Christ is free, for the price has already been paid.