A Gift Freely Given

One day as I found myself adrift,
A stranger gave me a wonderful gift.
Deeply indebted, I thought myself to be,
After all, that lovely gift certainly wasn’t free.

Experience had taught me in the past,
To repay my debts, or I would be harassed.
Right away, I embarked on a mission and a quest,
To repay my benefactor, and get some guilt off my chest.

I was in a quandary, and I began to fret,
As I desperately tried to repay my debt.
But this gift was different you see,
It wasn’t borrowed. It was entirely free.

The freely given gift I thought the world of,
It was given to me through an act of love.
I had a gift which I couldn’t buy or sell or trade,
It was something that could never be repaid.

If I could return the favor, my spirits would surely lift,
But alas, I was forever indebted for that freely given gift.
What was that wonderful gift, you ask,
What was the gift I could never repay?

My life of sin carried a sentence of death you see,
But a man called Christ gave His very life for me.
The judgment against me had been mercifully waived,
The sinless Christ had provided a way for me to be saved.

Because of his love, I am no longer adrift;
And I’m forever indebted for His freely given gift.
What can I do, now that I’m forgiven,
To repay my Christ for His gift so freely given?

I can share the good news to others who are adrift;
So they too can accept Him, and receive the gift that is freely given.

Larry Tate
January 30, 2009