Deed Or Mortgage?

M

ost anyone would have loved to have been in Tom’s position.  For most people the dream of home ownership can become a reality with the help of a hefty mortgage from any reputable and established financial institution.  Since Tom had a good job and earned a respectable salary, this option was available to him. His credit was good for just about any home that suited his fancy.  The problem wasn’t financing; it was selection.

When he was just a toddler, Tom’s grandfather bought a home to live in.  He determined that when the time came for Tom to purchase a home, he would give him the deed to this house and Tom could have a nice place to live with no debt.  He would own the home outright and could start making a life instead of earning a living.  The promise of the house was always in Tom’s mind.  As soon as he was out of college, had a decent job and a wife, he would settle down in that house and make it a home.

Now the time had come.  Tom had the degree, he had the job, he had the money, and he had the girl.  All that remained was selecting the home and therein lay Tom’s dilemma.  He was attracted to very large and ornate houses that were being built in a nearby development.  These homes offered the latest trends, the most recent conveniences, and they were ready for occupancy. 

The house his grandfather had promised him was a nice house but it needed work.  It required new paint, new plumbing, new carpet, a new heating/air conditioning/ventilation system, a new roof, and some work on the foundation.  The job looked overwhelming.  It would be so much easier to move into a newly built home even though it would cost him a considerable sum.  So, as he walked past several new houses carrying that deed in his hand, Tom made the decision, a decision he would eventually regret.  He bought that new house!

There are two schools of thought concerning Tom’s decision.  One is that he did the right thing.  The new house required no work, it was ready for him to occupy, and even though he had to borrow the money, he could write the interest off of his taxes.  This is the practical approach most of us take and the advice we would give to someone looking for a home.  On the other hand, Tom held the deed to a house outright.  The house would have cost him nothing and the repairs would have been a mere fraction of the cost of a new home.  True, it would have required some work on his part and a little patience until the job was done, but, when finished, he would be financially better off.

Would it surprise you to discover that this very situation occurred several thousand years ago and is to be found in the books of Genesis and Exodus?  Years before the children of Israel entered Egypt, God made a covenant with Abram in which He promised to give him the land where the Lord had called him.  This transaction is recorded in Genesis 15:18, “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.”  Notice the word “give” in the latter part of this verse.  God gave Abram a deed to the land.  The deed was good not only for Abraham but for his descendants as well.

And what about Abram’s descendants?  What did they do when it came time to claim that deed?  The land was occupied and God told the Israelites they would have to conquer the land but that He would be with them and the land was theirs.  What did they do at this moment of decision?  What choice did they make?  Were they willing to enter the land, do the conquests, make the improvements and claim it as their home? 

Sadly, the Scriptures tell us they did not. Numbers 14:1-4 gives us the account of their decision, “That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.  All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!  Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?"  And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

Sad isn’t it?  Just like Tom the people saw all the work required to make the place a home and they chose to reject the deed and take out a mortgage.  And what a price they paid.  Because they refused to accept God’s provision, because they insisted on doing things their own way and working according to their plan, they missed the Promised Land and died in the wilderness.  They took out a 40-year mortgage and had nothing of appreciable value to show for their decision.

T

here is a lesson for us here as well.  God offers us a deed through His son, Jesus Christ.  Christ paid the price for our salvation so that we could inherit eternal life and the kingdom of Heaven.  Why is it then that we insist on trying to work our way into God’s salvation?  Why do we insist on having things our own way when God has already made the way for us?  Instead of being obedient to His commands, we determine to take control of our lives and work our way to Heaven.  Unfortunately, this is not possible yet so many Christians have this understanding of God’s plan of salvation.  We must ask ourselves if we are taking out a mortgage when God is offering us a deed.  The choice is ours and so are the results of our decision.  Which one are you making today?