There was a time when a man’s word was his bond. That applied to women, also. If we promised it, it was as good as done.
Levi Strauss’ 501 denim jeans are iconic. In 1915, the jean manufacturer approached Cone Mills in North Carolina. The two shook hands and made the North Carolina supplier the exclusive source for the famous jean’s fabric.
All on a handshake that’s stood in place of a contract for over 100 years.
God offers us his hand. He holds it out, inviting us to grasp it in ours, to shake his hand, to make the greatest deal ever offered, with the biggest payoff in creation.
He offers us salvation. Let’s see how it works.
John 3:16 presents God’s side of the bargain as already completed:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
1 Peter 2:9-10 says he specifically chose us to be his partner:
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
1 Timothy 5:23 tells us God is aware of our weaknesses:
“No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.”
John 19:11 is our promise he’ll defend our agreement:
“Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.’ ”
Mark 10:3 bases our handshake on historical precedence:
“[Jesus] answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ”
Mark 8:31 reveals the true cost of our business partnership to God:
“And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
The historic deal between the Levi’s company and Cone Mills is known as the Golden Handshake. Both sides have held up their end of the bargain for over a century. They made a business deal with a simple handshake, and it was as good as done.
Our Golden Handshake with God is exactly the same. Even better, in fact. God’s already paid the price. He gave his Son, watched him be tortured and killed, and all before we were born. Now he stands with his hand out, waiting on us. How can we not want to be part of a deal like that?
When God says yea and amen, the deposit is already in the bank.
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