Poetry

A Special Someone on Valentine’s Day

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It is good to love someone, and it is good to be loved by someone.

It is good to hold someone, and it is good to be held by someone.

It is good to cherish someone, and it is good to be cherished by someone.

It is good to have someone special, and it is good to be special to someone.

It is good to have someone as your sweetheart, and it is good to be someone’s sweetheart.

It is good to care for someone, and it is good to be someone who is cared for.

It is good to share your heart with someone, and it is good to have someone share their heart with you.

It is good to dream someone’s dreams, and it is good to have someone dream your dreams.

It is good to know the depth of someone’s soul, and it is good to have someone know the depth of your soul.

It is good to help someone make life’s decisions, and it is good to have someone help make the decisions in your life.

It is good to forgive someone’s faults and failures, and it is good to have someone forgive your faults and failures.

It is good to soothe someone’s heartache, and it is good to have someone soothe your aching heart.

It is good to put your arms around someone who is afraid, and it is good to feel someone’s arms around you when you are fearful.

It is good to bear the pain of someone who is hurting, and it is good to have someone bear your painful hurt.

It is good to hold someone’s hand when life is difficult, and it is good to have someone hold your hand in difficult times.

It is good to live life with someone, and it is good to have someone live life with you.

It is good to be one with someone, and it is good to have someone be one with you.

For God had said, “It is not good that man should be alone,” so He made for him a special someone.

 

Appreciate the “special someone” that God has given to you this Valentine’s Day.  ~Janie Kellogg

 

Vision

Living on the Lighter Side

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Blink. Blink. Blink. The electricity is off again, and I realize that I love light.

 

On a dark night in rural Oklahoma this is a life-changing event. It’s hard to see my hands in front of my face. I hurry to light a candle. All activity has ceased; the television is quiet; the treadmill still. There is nothing to light the screen on my computer—it sits dark. As I am giving thanks for the glow of the candle, I think about how much I genuinely love light.

 

Light means life. Darkness means something else—but definitely not life, as evidenced by my still, lifeless room.

 

“The entrance of your words gives light; it gives understanding unto the simple.” That’s me—I am both simple and lack understanding. And because of it, I equally love the light that comes from God’s Word, especially when it brings the understanding of a newfound truth into my hungering heart.

 

I can’t seem to get enough of it. It’s like trying to thread a needle, or remove a sticker underneath my skin, or read the small print on a medicine bottle—I cannot get too much light. So it is with God’s light—I am in no danger of getting too much.

 

I continually pray for more light from His Word. But then God has a purpose when He dispenses light. The Bible says that God sent His Son “to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

 

Later, Jesus turned to His followers and said, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

 

I hear the call to be a light-spreader. Millions still live without the Light of World. “God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light.” As I sit here in the quiet of my dim surroundings, I wonder how people could love darkness. Why would anyone choose to live there?

 

Truth is life-giving light to hearts dwelling in unlit places. Even a trace is glorious and calls for celebration of a joy-gift from God.

 

I think of how my dark room needs life-giving light tonight—just like God’s dark world. His plan has always been to fill His children with that life-giving light and send them out into the darkness to spread it around. It seems only fair that the Master Light-Giver would expect a yield from His investment of light in my life.

 

Am I willing to share the light given to me? Does God want to use me to reach those living in the shadows of death? Do I even see them sitting there—over on the darker side? Is it possible that the light shining from my life could guide some lost soul to the path of peace? Is it bright enough to be seen? Bright enough to show anyone the way to the lighter side?

 

Dear Lord, help me love light even more. Help me be a light-spreader—by speaking light to those I meet today; by living light so those who see me see You; by writing light so others can read and understand. May the light You invest in me not be in vain.

 

And Lord, would You help my electricity to come back on soon, since I really do prefer living on the lighter side! ~ Janie Kellogg

 

Psalm 119:130 (NKJ); John 3:19(NLT); Luke 1:79 (NLT); John 20:21 (NLT)

Christian Living

There’s a Whole Lot of Living Going On

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It continues to baffle me. No matter how hard I try to conquer it, this slimy flesh of mine wiggles its way out of the squeeze, jumps off the anvil, and springs back into action. I have gone so far as to condemn it to death, taken it outside the city gates, and crucified it there. Killed it. Buried it. Done.

 

It didn’t last. I had to do it again. And again. And once more, again. A hundred times or more. I documented it in my journal, “Today, self died.” Months later I wrote again, “I attended a funeral today—mine!”

 

Defeat has triumphed over me. Victory has eluded me. It’s not that I don’t have the desire for self to die—I do. I really do. Perhaps I just don’t know how to kill it. A few years ago I wrote a profound statement: “I am going to die to self if it kills me!”

 

I suspect I am not alone. Actually, I’m certain I’m not, since the Apostle Paul described a similar battle in Romans 7. This chapter has perplexed me for years. I know it by heart. It is me—my testimony. Paul’s and mine. I still wonder how Paul could have described my exact struggle:

 

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do….As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me….So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members” (vs. 15-23; Emphasis added).

 

The only word in this chapter I must correct is the gender of the one with the heart-wrenching admission: “What a wretched woman I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (vs. 24)

 

The word wretched is a hard swallow. It means: worthless, base, despicable, inadequate, inferior, shameful, and vile. O despicable me! How perfectly that describes the way I feel when I mess up, fail my Lord, allow my flesh to rise from the dead, and once again do what I do not want to do.

 

There is, however, a vast difference in Paul’s outcome and my experience. He heralded his success in the very next verse: “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (vs. 25) His victory statement is simple, concise, and matter of fact.

 

Why can’t it be like that for me? Why can’t I find the key that Paul found to unlock the mystery of conquering self? At least a million times I have asked that same question.

 

I must resolve the issue. I cannot move on until I do. I’ll keep asking and searching, searching and asking. There is an answer; yet not easily found because of the war waged against my finding it. I am sure God isn’t teasing me—He wants me to find the key to this age-old mystery.

 

I make one helpful discovery: There’s a whole lot of living going on between Romans 7:24 and Romans 7:25. There was for Paul, though his declaration of victory was so certain that he stated it as if it had just happened.

 

My Lord slowly grants seeing eyes. And I’m close—so close I can taste it, feel it, sense it, and believe it. I claim it as mine.

 

Join the journey. ~Janie Kellogg

Christian Living

The Inverted Gospel

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God wants me to get it. His heart longs for my eyes to see what He sees; my heart to feel what He feels; my mind to grasp the inverted gospel message of Jesus Christ that says to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). I struggle with this upside down thinking.

 

God’s intent from the beginning has been to make Himself known in the earth—His greatness, His love, His mercy, His ways—all of which are different than ours. And how did God plan to do that? Through the lives of His chosen people (Galatians 3:8).

 

“The world judges our Christ by our fruit,” said Cora Harris MacIlvary. If that is true, perhaps we need to inspect our fruit to see what we are producing. Do we present an accurate picture of Christ to the world around us?

 

Some fruit inspection guidelines could be these:

Jesus said to humble ourselves—we remain proud.

He said to forgive others—we hang on to our hurts.

He said to love others as ourselves—we despise those with different religious or political views.

He said to judge not—we accuse, convict, and condemn with one sweeping thought.

He said to be merciful—we want mercy, but refuse to give it.

 

Sometimes I question who Jesus will be talking to when He says: “Why call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46) Will it be me?

 

Jesus told the disciples that “if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). What part of deny do I not understand? Could this be what Jesus meant by deny: “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back” (Luke 6:29-30)?

 

God truly wants His children to get it—to grasp the meaning of the gospel:  God loves sinners. His heart is breaking for them because they are lost, and for us because we don’t get it. Sometimes I fear that I am part of the problem instead of part of the solution, as Jesus intended for me to be.

 

It may be time for a spiritual checkup:  Am I living a Christ-centered life that reflects the merciful kindness of a loving God, or a self-centered life as one who has been duped into believing that I have rights that must not be violated—the right to my own way, my possessions, my opinions, my attitudes, or as Oswald Chambers said, “the right to myself?”

 

Jesus clearly said to deny myself and follow Him. I am certain He meant it. Yet, there is a gap between my thinking and Jesus’ instructions. There’s even more between my life and Jesus’ selfless example.

 

God is searching for those who will reflect the truth about Him. And when He finds them, I believe He will pour His Spirit into them with great measure so He can to make Himself known to a dark and desperate world.

 

Am I willing to deny myself of my rights and be one of them? Just thinking…… ~Janie Kellogg

 

“Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers. Let our hearts be led by mercy; help us reach with open hearts and open doors. Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours.” ~ Casting Crowns

 

Note: All scripture references are NIV.

Christian Growth

Confessions of a Seeker’s Heart

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The song replays in my head over and over. It isn’t the tune that lingers long after the Christmas Holidays; it is the implied meaning of the words: “Do you see what I see?” “Do you hear what I hear?” and “Do you know what I know?” I keep asking: Is it true—some see more, hear more, and know more than others?

 

Obviously, the characters of the song—the wind, the shepherd boy, and the mighty king—had different viewpoints from which to witness the miraculous birth of the Christchild.

 

The wind with no physical limitations could easily see “a star, a star dancing in the night with a tail as big as a kite” better than the little lamb.

 

The little lamb with no distractions should hear “a song, a song high above the trees with a voice as big as the sea” better than the shepherd boy.

 

The shepherd boy informed by an angel would know “a child, a child shivers in the cold” that the “mighty king in his palace warm” knew nothing about.

 

Each was in a place of optimum sight, sound, and knowing over those who saw, heard, and knew less. Or, could it have been their ability to see, hear, and know things in the spirit realm, and had nothing to do with where they were positioned? Regardless of what caused the disparity, it is apparent that some saw, heard, and knew more.

 

Is the same true of people? Some people see greater glimpses of God at work in the world than others. The still small voice of God—unnoticed and unrecognized by much of the world—is heard clearly by some. The Apostle Paul prayed that all the saints would know the width, length, height and depth of God’s love (Ephesians 3:18). Some do, but more don’t. Even the most perceptive among us are aware of only traces of God at work in our world. And what about me—how much do I see, hear, and know of the activities of God?

 

Moses obviously saw, heard, and knew more than the average Israelite. I think his forty days on the mountaintop were possibly days of sheer delight—days he didn’t want to end. At least, not end so that he could come down the mountain to deal with non-seeing-hearing-knowing people. Later, he asked to see God’s glory. God said that no one could see His face and live to tell about it. A compromise was struck—God granted his wish. He hid Moses in the cleft of a rock while His glory passed by, and Moses saw God’s back (Exodus 33:18-23).

 

Do I get that? God responds to those who want more. He only refused Moses’ request to see His face because God knew Moses couldn’t withstand such greatness! If I want to see God—He will let me. That is, He will reveal as much of Himself to me as I am able to endure.

 

I confess: I am not content with what I now see, hear and know. I want more. The more I get, the more I want. Seems I am never satisfied. More insight drives me to even more insight. Hearing His voice today makes me want to hear it again tomorrow. Knowing Him fuels my desire to know Him better.

 

How will I get more sight, sound, and knowing? The apostle Paul said, “…the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things” (Philippians 3:8). What was Paul willing to give up to fully know Jesus? All things. What will it take for me to fully know Jesus? The same.

 

In the meantime, here are the desires of this seeker’s heart:

 

I will continue to see glimpses—and O how wonderful those glimpses are!

 

I will continue to hear His still small voice now and then—striving to hear it above all other voices.

 

And, I will continue to know Him here a little and there a little—slowly and surely, as I am willing to give up those things that hinder me, I too will experience “the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.”  ~ Janie Kellogg

 

“Oh, the fullness, pleasure, and sheer excitement of knowing God on earth!” ~Jim Elliott

Encouragement

My Three New Year’s Wishes

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As the first day of 2013 dawned last Tuesday, I found myself wondering what the year would hold for me and my family, my nation, and my world. At the dismal close of 2012, it seemed as if the whole world were spinning out of control. Even while reading Christmas card wishes for a “Happy and Prosperous New Year,” I doubted that happy and prosperous were likely, in light of such gigantic problems.

 

In my quiet time with God that sun-sprayed morning, I focused on what things could make this a happy and prosperous year. My Holy House Guest led me 1 Corinthians 13. This chapter is commonly known as the love chapter, because it defines what love is in real terms, not what Hollywood or country music say it is. We should re-read it often. The writer also speaks of things that will go away after Jesus returns to earth, but what caught my attention were the three things that will remain—faith, hope, and love. As I pondered the uncertainly of the next 365 days, I wrote in my journal that faith, hope, and love were my three New Year’s wishes for both me and my troubled world.

 

My first wish is for faith. Personally, I wish for faith to write God’s message with power and clarity, for faith to win the lost to Christ, and faith to move mountains of fear and unbelief anywhere I encounter them. Within the body of believers, I wish for faith that results in signs and wonders, healings, miracles, and demonstrations of power, as experienced by the 1st Century Christians. I wish for faith that delivers people from the bondage of sin, restores families and marriages, and gives children a safe environment both in and out of the womb. I wish for faith that brings an awakening to righteousness in our country, causing establishments of sin to shut down as they did in days when Charles Finney preached across America. I wish for God’s own people to repent of our sins, our friendship with the world, and our indifference to the things of God. Plainly stated—I wish for REVIVAL in America!

 

With the world crumbling around us as nation after nation falls into turmoil and unrest, my second wish is for hope—hope in the “God of hope” (Romans 15:13). I hope for a cure for cancer, Lou Gerick’s disease, and every other life-sucking disease. I hope for the end of wars, world hunger, and sex-trafficking. I hope for men everywhere to hate what is evil. I hope for world leaders to stop killing their own people and to work together for the good of all. I hope for truth and righteousness to be restored in governments around the world—especially in America. I hope for integrity to trump political parties, denominations, and union affiliation; and for godly character to motivate actions rather than personal gain or ambition. I hope for the Church of Jesus Christ to be clearly recognizable as the people with the answers.

 

Last, but most importantly, I wish for love. I am reminded of the words from a once popular song: “What the world needs now is love, sweet love; that’s the only thing that there’s just too little of…not just for some, but for everyone.” I believe love would solve all of the world’s problems—but only if it is LOVE FOR GOD. If all people loved God and lived to please Him alone—not bowing to other gods, leaders, governments, religion, or people—the problems of the world would disappear. I wish for a world in which love rules over fear, hatred, greed, and selfishness; a world where pride, prejudice, jealousy, unforgiveness, and revenge are dismantled and replaced with love. Oh, how I wish for love, sweet love—not just for some, but for everyone.

 

Is it realistic to wish for such optimism in our world? Of course! Did not Jesus teach us pray to our Heavenly Father, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven?” These are the very prayers God will and does answer. The Bible says in Revelation 11:15: “The whole world has now become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever” (NLT). That, my friend, would make 2013 a very happy and prosperous year! Let us not just wish; let’s start asking. ~Janie Kellogg

Holidays

What! Another New Year Already

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Perhaps like me, you are asking, “How in the world did it get to be 2013?” Growing up in a home where my parents believed we were living in the last days back in the 1960’s, I surely thought that Jesus would have come by now. Actually, I thought He would come before I graduated from High School, or got married, or had children. And what about those years in between then and now? Are they not much like a vapor, as if they simply passed through my hands?

 

Regardless of how we look back on years gone by, either with joy or regret, it is more beneficial to look forward to that year which we are soon to embark upon ~ 2013. The Apostle Paul said, “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3: 13-14). This new year comes with great upward opportunity to do many things. Do we not all love new beginnings? I know that I do. I love to let the past be the past, wipe the slate clean, and get a fresh start. That is what 2013 holds for us, if we will see it through those lenses. Maybe then, we can look forward to this new year with great anticipation.

 

The thing I look forward to most is new revelations from God, His Word, and His ways. I am awed at what I now see that only 12 months ago, I did not see. You may ask, “How does that happen?” It happens a little at a time. To describe it as the Bible does, it comes “Precept must be upon precept….line upon line….here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). You see, we cannot withstand ALL of the revelation of God at once. He told Moses, “You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me, and live” (Exodus 33:20). WOW! We should be grateful that God gives revelation only as we are able to accept and absorb it.

 

We are to be ever-seeking, ever-increasing in the knowledge of God. That is His plan for us, to slowly but surely allow His Spirit to bring the light of God into our very beings. We must have light to live. We must have light to grow. We must have light to mature. Light literally “dawns upon us” gradually as we seek the face of God. I’d like to think I could have a Damascus Road experience, but it hasn’t ever worked that way for me. It comes as I ask for it and as God chooses to grant it. He, being all-wise, knows what I am ready for and what I can receive. I must be grateful for whatever He chooses to give.

 

With any new revelation also comes the taunting sin of pride. Don’t you hate it? About the time pride tries to enter my heart over a fresh revelation, I am reminded of the clear fact that there are still vast unknown truths and mysteries of God yet unrevealed to me. I must remember that humility is the key to more revelation, and to that I bow my head and humbly say, “Thank you” to the Gracious One who gives opening of the eyes, here a little and there a little.

 

May 2013 be a year of revealed truths in our lives. Let us ask the Father to open our eyes to see them; ask Jesus to enlarge our hearts to accept and receive them; and ask our Holy House Guest to make us consciously aware of them when they come our way. If we do those things, 2013 will be a year of great revelation! Are you ready to press even more for the prize of the upward call of God? I know that I am, and I will be writing about those very things in the coming year. I hope you will join me on this 2013 journey, and invite a friend to join us as well. Happy New Year to all! ~ Janie Kellogg

Holidays

On Empty After Christmas?

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For many years I wondered why this huge, empty hole in my heart lingered long after the holiday gift-opening and family-feasting had passed. Was it a let down from the hours of planning, shopping, wrapping, baking, and cooking that had zapped my strength, or was it something more? I truly didn’t know; I just knew that it showed up very year in the hours following Christmas. It seemed that I made a big hype about something, and when it was over, I was left with questions—and emptiness. Maybe that’s your experience too.

 

Today, I think I know the answer. Not that there is anything wrong with giving gifts to those we love or preparing a meal fit for a king, but God designed human beings with a hole in our hearts that can only be filled with Himself. No matter what we do to fill that hole—intended for Christ alone—we can’t seem to satisfy its hollowness. It doesn’t take years to discover that “more earthly possessions” are not the answer. In my case, a gnawing hunger for something greater loomed large in my spirit, reaching beyond what I had attained in my spiritual life. Could it be the intent of the heart of God, the Hound of Heaven, ever drawing me by His Spirit away from the unsatisfying things of the world and closer to Himself? I now think so.

 

For the first time in my entire life (more years than I care to count and announce), I feel full at the end of this Christmas Day. The very real presence of my God living inside me satisfies my soul. Why me? Why this? Why now? I’m not sure I know those “why” answers, except that a continual hunger drives me closer to my Lord, ever seeking more of Him, and always searching for writers who seemed to have found what I still long for.

 

This has been an amazing year of discoveries as my Holy House Guest guides my journey, leading me to writers that pen words of living water for my thirsty soul. My most recent discovery is Ann Voskamp, author of “One Thousand Gifts,” a book given to me by a dear friend. This best-seller has forever left its mark on my life.

 

Although I was still swaying from the depth of revelations coming from this one small book with a bird nest on the cover, I subscribed to Ann Voskamp’s daily blog at www.aholyexperience.com. One of the first emails I received included a link to John Piper’s website “Desiring God” to hear an interview with Ann. I challenge you to listen to it. The title of the Interview is “What our Christmas desperately, especially, needs this year.” Go to her website and look for the link on the right-hand side of her home page. Hearing the humility in Ann’s voice made me weep with her as she shared an experience of passing by a tarnished piece of jewelry lying on the ground—a cross.

 

The best Christmas gift I received this year is a new vision, not of the manger as you might expect, but of the cross. As I saw the cross more clearly—the pain, suffering, and agony endured by my Savior—I gained a deeper appreciation for that Holy Babe in the manger. You see, we cannot separate the two—the manger and the cross. Both are enormously significant. Both are totally essential, as one without the other lessens the meaning of either. We needed both—God gave both. We must believe both. We must embrace both. We must weep over both. We must rejoice over both. We must celebrate both. Their message intertwined is one great swelling announcement: GOD LOVES US! He loves us so much that He spoke it through a manger—He spoke it through the cross. He is ever-speaking His unfathomable love to us, hoping, longing for us to hear His voice, believe His message, and respond to His love.

 

Have you heard? believed? responded? Meet Him at the manger. Meet Him at the cross. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal their message of God’s great love for YOU. Allow the deep-satisfying presence of God Almighty to fill your spirit to full! That, my friends, is God’s desire for each of us—to be filled with all the fullness of God Himself (Ephesians 3:19). How can we have emptiness when we know the One who fills? We cannot. We must not.

 

R. C. Sproul said, “The issue of faith is not so much whether we believe in God, but whether we believe the God we believe in.” Believe Him now—He fills empty hearts! ~ Janie Kellogg

Holidays

The Gift of Today

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While I will never understand why it takes the difficult to make us appreciate the important, it is true nonetheless. Whether it comes as a heart-jolting diagnosis delivered only days before Christmas, or the pain-staking battle with a disease that refuses to lose, or a shortage of small caskets for five-year-old bodies in Newtown, Connecticut that leaves us stunned by a world gone amiss, we are sharply awakened from our indifference. Such grievous events stop us dead in our tracks, cause us to take notice and make new commitments to value what we have.

 

After one such event in my own life, I learned the priceless value of a day. I began to view every twenty-four-hour rebirth of life as a gift from God Himself. In fact, each day-gift comes graciously wrapped in the splendor of a sunrise, the grandeur of a sunset, and everything in between is ours. As we unwrap the gift, we find that carefully tucked inside each day is the inherent opportunity to grow, to share the joys of life with another, to bear the pain of the suffering, to reach out to the less fortunate, to meet a challenge, to make a new discovery, or perhaps to reach for greatness. What we do with it is up to us. It is our choice. We can live it to its fullest and make a difference in our world, or we can simply allow it to pass through our hands.

 

We’ve all heard the popular slogan, “What Would Jesus Do?” Jesus knew He had a divine purpose for His appointed time on earth and used every second of it to accomplish that purpose. He often spoke of time being short and much work to be done before His departure. How fitting for the day in which we live. While our purpose may not seem as divine as that of Jesus, there is also much work to do before our departure. There are multitudes of lost souls to reach with the Gospel, untold pain and suffering to relieve, and the overwhelming issues of a complex and terrorized world to address. How valuable is each day that we are given the opportunity to do something about it.

 

God is such a good Gift-Giver. Unlike us human beings, who search out the bargains to be had or a generic just-as-good-as-the-original brand, the Master Creator custom-designs and handcrafts each day especially for us. We can be assured that this day will perfectly fit our lives. Let us be careful not to insult the Giver by hurriedly passing over His gift to open another. Cherish this one. Make this one of those days of which it shall be said, “Those were the days!” Let us make memories today that we will hold dear for eternity.

 

A gift can never be fully ours until we accept it, unwrap it, and experience it. Today is God’s gift to you. Receive it as such. Oh, in keeping with the rules of gift-giving, we must remember to recognize the generosity of the Giver; open the gift in His Presence so as to bring joy to the One giving; unwrap it with anticipation and excitement; and never, but never, forget to say “Thank You.” While it may not be just what we wanted or even what we asked for, we should treasure its value because of Who gave it to us. ~Janie Kellogg

Holidays

The Most Expensive Gift

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‘Tis the season to be shopping! Relentlessly, we shop ‘til we drop. While enduring crowded malls and long lines, we are sustained by the thrill of getting our hands on the perfect gift for those we love. We search with diligence until at last we find it. Almost in unbelief, we pick it up and carefully examine it for any slight imperfection. Finally, we check the price tag to determine if its value is worth the cost. To our disappointment, it is simply too expensive and more than we are willing to pay. We place it back on the shelf and walk away. Perhaps we can find a more affordable, less costly gift.

 

But that was not the case on that first Christmas morning two thousand years ago when God gave the most expensive gift of all—the gift of His Son. The cost would stretch from the starlit hill of Bethlehem to the darkened hill of Calvary. It would be wrapped in swaddling clothes woven with pain and stained in blood. A ribbon of mercy would adorn this priceless gift of love. Oh yes, God knew in advance the cost of His gift. The cruel cross was in full view as God pondered His decision. The price tag would be high—the cost enormous.

 

It has been said that a friend would perhaps die for a friend, and many would die for their own child, but only the Son of God would die for a sinner such as I. You see, my life was laced with self-righteousness from feeble attempts at being good; my will bent on having my own way; my attitude in need of adjustment; my pride out of control; my body imperfect; and my destiny one of destruction. Yet God chose to pay an extravagant price to rescue me.

 

Only when we comprehend the tremendous cost of God’s gift will we have gratitude equal to its worthiness. Only when we recognize our pitiful state had the gift not been given will we grasp its significance. Only when we acknowledge the pain it brought to the heart of God will we understand its high value. And it is only when we accept the generosity of God will we adore the Gift and worship the Giver.

 

There has always been just one true message of Christmas even though it is often camouflaged among cheerful holiday ado. As we observe this Christmas, it is only fitting that we celebrate the most expensive gift ever given, the gift of Jesus. ~Janie Kellogg

Discovering the Indwelling Holy Spirit