Under His Wings
Vernon Grounds, American theologian and Christian educator, tells a story of Indian evangelist, Sundar Singh:
[Singh] once wrote about a forest fire in the Himalayan mountains that he witnessed while traveling. As many people were trying to put out the flames, a group of onlookers noticed a tree whose branches had begun to catch fire. A mother bird flew frantically in circles above the tree. Chirping in distress, she seemed to be seeking help for her chicks still inside the nest. As the nest began to burn, the mother bird did not fly away. Instead, she dove down and covered her little ones with her wings. In an instant, she and her chicks were consumed by the flames.
Singh then said to the people,
"We have just witnessed something extraordinary. God created a bird with such great love and devotion that it was willing to give its life to protect its young … "
Singh concluded,
That is the kind of love that made Him come down from heaven and become human. That love also made Him willing to suffer and die for all of us.”
This story stands as a remarkable illustration of Christ’s love for us. We too stand in awe as we reflect on the holy fire of judgment that burned upon Calvary. There Christ was willing to suffer and “bear our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24).
Jesus Saves
In October 2019, Tyler Moon took part in a 10-mile race in Minneapolis. Wanting to declare his faith openly, Moon decided to put “Jesus Saves” on his race bib hoping to inspire someone in the crowd. Instead, the bib’s message would prove to be eerily prophetic that day.
The 25-year-old had a heart attack and collapsed around mile 8 of the race. About a dozen people rushed to help him, administering CPR and calling an ambulance. Among them, a runner named Jesus Bueno, a certified registered nurse. He was one of the first to reach Moon and to help save his life.
"Jesus Saves” is a popular slogan. We see it on bumper stickers and on signs at athletic events. I often wonder if people who see that phrase really know what it means.
It means that Jesus suffered and died on a cross to save us from our sins. It also means that to be saved we must accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, placing our faith and trust in him alone for our salvation.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
The Incredible Seashell Rooster
As a family in ministry, we often didn't get a lot of quality family time during the holidays. So we had a tradition of taking a post-Christmas family road trip to sunny Florida. Along with a few gifts, each of our kids was given some cash and the opportunity, along the way, to pick out a few things for themselves. Inevitably, during these trips, we would end up in a south Florida gift shop.
It was during one of those gift shop stops that my youngest son, probably 6 or 7 years old at the time, first spotted an amazing rooster designed almost entirely out of seashells. He was completely enamored by it. He was also convinced that I would love it as much as he did.
So he took the seashell rooster to the man at the register to find out how much it would cost him. After completely emptying his pockets of what was supposed to be his Christmas money, and some negotiation over the difference, he was so proud to walk away with that amazing seashell rooster for me, his father.
From a practical point of view, I have never been given a more worthless gift. But when measured in terms of the sacrifice involved, I have never been given a more meaningful gift. In fact, of all of the gifts I've received over the years, the seashell rooster is still on my mantle. And its value to me only grows with time.
Although it serves no practical purpose, that rooster will always remind me of the time when my son completely forgot about himself, sacrificing all the money he had, in order to bless me. For that reason, it will always be one of my most valued possessions.
Something similar happened two-thousand years ago when God forgot about Himself in order to bless us. But the gift of God's Son, sacrificed for us, would prove to be anything but impractical. Once received, it would pay for our sins, restore us to right fellowship with God, assure us of our true worth, bestow the promise of the resurrection, and grant us eternal citizenship in God's Kingdom. Receiving Jesus literally satisfies all of our deepest longings and all of our most essential needs.
And when this gift is measured in terms of the sacrifice involved, we see how profoundly wonderful it really is, for it represents the highest price that has ever been paid for anything. God was willing to make the greatest of all sacrifices for the joy of loving us.
You will never be offered a more meaningful gift. May the value that you place on this gift, and the joy that you find in Jesus, only grow in time.
"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).
"Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross ..." (Hebrews 12:2).