In a bid to accelerate the take up of credit cards in the 1950’s the Bank of America hit upon the idea of sending an unsolicited card to every one of its 60,000 customers in Fresno, California. Known as the ‘Fresno Drop’ it was a spectacular success, and within two years a million cards were in use, and the modern love affair with credit had begun. As we all know, however, the downside of credit cards are the huge debts and interest payments that can accrue over time, earning a lot of money for the lender. The ‘Fresno Drop’ was not the generous act of a big-hearted bank that it might have seemed.
In a similar way, the Bible tells us that God also loves to give credit, but the credit he offers is a free gift and the only interest involved is his interest in restoring our relationship with him. Take up was slow for several hundred years until the ‘Jesus Drop’ of 2,000 years ago suddenly made this credit available to all.
The Fresno Drop and the Jesus Drop of credit do have one thing in common and it’s this: ease of acceptance. Fresno customers just had to open an envelope, and we just need to say yes to Jesus.
