random thoughts... My name is Aaron, sometimes called Max because it's my middle name. I recently married a beautiful woman who just so happens to be the love of my life.

I know how we all LOVE forwarded e-mails. Especially the Christian ones that “convict” us into sending it onto our victims, I mean, friends and family if we “really love Jesus.” I DO NOT send them out. If I do, I take off the last section about needing to send it to 15 people for a miracle to happen in their lives.

That being said, I like reading them. They’re kind of cool. I like the fictional stories. Do I believe they’re ALL real, of course not. Do I think they could possibly have happened? Yes, but probably not. Sorry to burst your bubble of “it’s in an e-mail so it MUST be true.” Jesus still loves me.

So today, my office-mate, Prof, sent me just such an e-mail. Don’t worry, he’s not a perpetuator of Spiritual Spam. I asked him to send it to me. This is how the story goes: Dr. Christianson (real original name, by the way) is in charge of a mandatory, freshmen level, Christian class. Basically, all freshmen in this small “Western United States college” (How can you tell me none of this is made up??? Anyways…) are forced to take this class.

Although Dr. Christianson, who is a Christian himself, does his best to make the class interesting and insightful, most of the students who attend only do so out of obligation. One year, Dr. Christianson gets a single person who WANTS to be in the class, a young man named Steve.

Sensing the opportunity of a Christian collaboration, Dr. Christianson speaks to Steve about a little demonstration he’d like to do in class. Steve agrees and it’s set. They work out the particulars, and everything’s ready.

The day comes and Steve is ready to go. Dr. Christianson has purchased a few dozen delicious donuts and is offering them to the entire class. The only hitch is that Steve must do 10 sit-ups before they receive the donut. Each student gets a donut, regardless of the fact if they want one or not, and Steve does 10 push-ups for each donut/person.

By the end of the demonstration people are upset at the Dr., crying because they can’t help, and Steve is laying on the floor exhausted. Dr. Christianson then turns to his class, and the extra people who happened to wander in for free donuts, and says that this demonstration was done to give them a picture of the sacrifice Jesus made for the world. Some people accepted their donuts as the gift they were while others left their donuts untouched on their desks. Whether or not they choose to accept the gift, the price has been paid. Class dismissed.

While this story is most assuredly made up, it serves as a demonstration in and of itself. The actions taken by the people reflect the actions taken by God and Jesus. They came together and decided on a ransom for our very souls.

I used to be upset about Jesus dying on the cross. I never really understood why, though. I just knew that, when a pastor would speak about the Crucifixion, I would cry bitter tears and there would be this dark, stormy cloud of turmoil spinning around in my head and heart. I could visually imagine Jesus nailed to the cross for me. I could see His hurt and know that I couldn’t do anything about it. By why would it upset me?

After I read that forward, I realized something. Some of the students in the class offered to do their own push-ups for their donuts, but the Dr. wouldn’t let them. He said only Steve could. And, in reality, only Jesus could lay down His life for us because no one else has the power to. I would sit there, years ago, and pray that Jesus wouldn’t be tortured for my sake. Only now do I understand, as I read of the many students who rejected their donuts, that I KNEW Jesus’ sacrifice, the price He paid, the pain He went through, yet I also KNEW that I was going to leave that room and live my life the way I wanted to. I KNEW I was going to sin. I was already making plans to sin before I even got to church. And that killed me. The price had been paid and I knew that I was rejecting it before I could even appreciate it.

Life is different for me now. I do my best to really be the person God wants me to be, instead of just paying lip service and continuing on with “my life.” When I think of Jesus’ sacrifice for me now, tears still come to my eyes, but they’re no longer bitter. Although there are millions of people in the world who daily reject Him, I know that I accept AND, more importantly, appreciate His gift.

“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” Jude 1:24-25

I love donuts and I love salvation, especially with chocolate on top…of the donut, of course :oD

As a RANDOM happening, today seems to be the National Donut Day! Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts are giving away a free donut with the purchase of any beverage (limit one per customer). Go, enjoy a cup of coffee and donut, and maybe think about the other free gifts in our lives that are sitting on our proverbial desks.