Acquisition and Activation

Several months prior to the purchase of our iPhones, my wife and I were seriously interested in upgrading our antiquated mobiles to the HTC EVO. Our fortified wall of reluctance and inhibitions were finally under siege by a campaign of ambitious zeal to enter into the 21st century. I remember on one occasion, where we walked into a Sprint store to get some information about the phone and we became totally enraptured by the sight of it. Again, our outdated phones were the equivalent to portable rotaries, so our sentiments and reactions were justified in our eyes. Finally, after we were finished drooling over the prospect, we asked the sales associate how much would it cost for both of us to walk out of the store that night with a HTC EVO in hand.... have you ever seen a cartoon where the character gets this grand and lofty idea? Everything is picture perfect and then someone says something that causes the cloud or balloon, that encapsulates the idea, to deflate. It then skyrockets all around the general vicinity until finally it is no more. Well, that described our aspirations once we were told how much it would cost, not including the activation of a more expensive service plan. Even at that point, we were still longing to get the phone. We might have settled for just getting the phones and then activating them at another time, but what good would that do? What would be the benefit of acquiring this amazing piece of technology, yet unable to utilize any of the features that causes it to be great?

Under the Old Covenant, that is, the previous agreement that God had with humanity, day after day, year after year, sacrifices were made on behalf of the people to make amends for their wrongdoings. Can you imagine how daunting this task could be? Not only the execution of it, but also the repetition. Moreover, the fact that it was repetitive in nature brought to light the apparent inadequacy of the sacrifice. It was not sufficient enough to extract the complete forgiveness needed to allow one to rest and be in right standing or relationship with God. So, the sacrifices continued until a New Covenant, a new agreement was generated and validated by the blood of Jesus. Scripture tells us that Jesus, the Son of God, gave Himself as the perfect sacrifice, one time, so we could become the beneficiaries of complete forgiveness, no longer having to strive to acquire it(Hebrews 10). He procured the pardon for us by His work, His sacrifice, saving us from the enslavement of sin. However, another vital element remains: activation.

Consider, for a moment, the scenario regarding the phones that we wanted. Re-visting the question earlier: what good would it do me if I acquired this grandiose smartphone, yet I was unable to enjoy its features because I did not activate it? To end any internal debate that you may be having with yourself due to this question, I will just tell you that the answer is NONE. I would just have a nice-looking piece of hardware that, in its present state, would be of no service and ineffectual. In that same breath, what if I got it activated? Then I would be able to experience everything that the phone would have to offer. The work required to be forgiven has already been satisfied for us, so it is now ours to enjoy, but we will not be able to experience all that it has to offer if we choose not to activate it by our faith. Am I saying that our faith obtains something that we do not have? Not at all, it is our faith, our belief and confidence in what Jesus has already done for us that causes it to be actualized in our lives. Salvation, righteousness, healing, deliverance and the like have all been secured for us by Christ and Him alone. Our experience of these features will be determined by what we choose to believe. Will we choose to activate or are we content with just having the device?