Insurance policies have been sold for many reasons, and have been around for a very long time, but none quite as bizarre as insurance which provides protection against alien abduction.  The Saint Lawrence Agency in Florida is the only agency to offer such a policy, and it began doing so in 1987.  It provides financial benefits to people who are abducted by an alien, and it is considered to be purely a novel item.

        “Words from Above” in the Bible tell us about a much more serious need than being protected from alien abduction.  We may very well wish to call it an insurance policy, but perhaps a better name would be an assurance policy.  God had a plan before the foundation of the world to protect us from spiritual death and total separation from Him throughout eternity.  We know this plan as the plan of salvation and eternal life, and it has been provided for all mankind through the sacrificial death of God’s Son Jesus.  He died on a Roman cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all the people of the world.

        God’s plan became necessary when the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, disobeyed His one rule when they lived in a perfect place called the Garden of Eden.  There they had a special relationship with God, who walked and talked with them on a daily basis, but they threw it all away by their disobedience.  The consequences of this disobedience included being expelled and forever banned from their perfect paradise, and ruining their special relationship with God. 

        Following their expulsion from Eden, they had to toil the ground from which Adam was created in order to provide food for themselves, and could no longer simply eat the fruit from the trees of the garden.  Eve had to bear pain in childbirth and Adam had to work by the sweat of his brow, but their most serious consequence was their spiritual separation from God.  But as a God of grace and mercy, God sent His Son Jesus to earth, born in human form, to show people how to become accepted into the kingdom of God.

        Jesus clearly proclaimed that in order to be reconciled to God, it was necessary for people to confess their sins to God, seek His forgiveness, and invite Him into their lives.  Doing so would provide a blessed assurance that is better than any financial benefits provided by any kind of insurance policy.  It assures people of being in good standing with God, and of one day having the privilege of spending eternity in heaven with Him, living in the mansions built for us there.

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For information, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.