As we prepare to celebrate the resurrection this Easter weekend, we pause to remember the enormous sacrifice Christ paid for us on the cross. He paid the highest price, his life, to save us from a life of hopelessness and despair. This free gift God generously bestowed upon the world is rooted in hope, grace, and love. It is transformational, changing all those who accept it from the inside out. It is the greatest gift humanity has, and ever will, receive, and yet we ourselves paid nothing for it. For us, it is free.
Inna was a small girl when her family immigrated to the United States from Ukraine in 1989 during a time of great persecution in the country. Upon their arrival, the family was welcomed to their new home by a sponsor family through World Relief. Her parents were taught the basic necessities of life in America, including learning how to speak English, learning to drive, and finding employment to support Inna and her five siblings. They were also introduced to a group of Ukrainian Christians who lived in the area, providing them with yet another support system of people who cared about them and loved the Lord.
Through her childhood and adolescence, the one possession Inna held most dear was an illustrated children’s Bible she received when she was nine years old. She read this precious gift dozens of times, cover to cover, never noticing a small stamp on the first page that revealed where this Bible came from. All she knew was that for her, it was a life-changing free gift. A free gift, full of God’s promises of hope, grace, and love. A free gift, which she recently discovered had a small World Relief stamp on the first page and which she received through the generosity of the Church. A free gift, which she now reads to her 19-month-old son, blessing him with the same gift of hope, grace, and love she was blessed with some fifteen years ago.
Without the support of the Church, Inna would have never received her beloved Bible – a free gift – from World Relief. This Easter weekend, as we celebrate the resurrection we remember God’s generosity, giving us the ultimate free gift – eternal life through our salvation in Christ. As we remember His generosity, let us also reflect on ways in which we can be generous to others – the sick, the oppressed, the hurting, the hungry, the vulnerable – offering them hope in the name of Jesus.
Learn more about Refugee Resettlement at World Relief.