by M. R. Wells
Consider This:
In what ways—height or others—do you feel short-changed? How have you seen God use who you are for His unique purposes? Are you standing tall in your heart as His unique creation? If not, will you ask Him to help you do so?
The Gospel According to Munchie
The Price Must Be Right
It is true, Christian, the debt you owe to God
must be paid in good and lawful money, but,
take comfort. Here Christ is the paymaster.
WILLIAM GURNALL
My adorable nine-year-old papillon mix, Munchie, came to me from a rescue group. He was a pet whose person could no longer care for him. He wound up in an animal shelter where he was spotted by the head of this rescue group, Angie.
Angie realized this sweet little guy was a perfect candidate to be re-homed. He didn’t even seem to realize he was in a shelter. She was determined to find him a new family. After a standard waiting period, she could pay a fee to get him out. The cost of Munchie’s redemption was one hundred dollars. If it wasn’t paid, he’d eventually be euthanized.
There was no way a dog could come up with one dollar, let alone one hundred. Munchie could not possibly have freed himself. He wouldn’t even have understood that this was necessary. Fortunately, Angie had a heart to help him and was willing to do for him what he couldn’t do for himself. The moment he became available she paid the price, took him from the shelter, and placed him in foster care. Some weeks later I took over his foster mom duties and ultimately adopted Munchie into my four-footed family.
Not long after Munchie’s adoption, I had another, very different experience that underlined the importance of redemption. I was driving to meet some friends connected with a ministry about an hour from my home. The final portion of the trip involved taking a toll road. I was told the fee would be one dollar, and I made certain I had dollar bills available to pay.
I am not used to taking toll roads and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But I assumed I’d drive up to a booth and give my money to a person. That’s what I’d seen on toll roads in other parts of the country. This was not the case here, however. The booth was at the end of the road and there was no human in sight. A machine took the payment, and it only took coins. There was no barrier to keep a car from driving through without paying. But there was a prominent warning sign. It explained that there was a camera recording the cars that passed through, and the fine for failing to pay was 55 dollars.
I was stunned. I scrounged in my purse and didn’t come up with anything close to a dollar in coins. I put my car in park and ran back to a vehicle that had pulled up behind me. I asked the driver if he had a dollar in change to trade for my bill. But he’d been caught by surprise as well, and was scrounging for coins himself.
I rushed back to my car and dug deeper. Somehow I found 60 cents. One dime fell from my hands to the driver’s side floor mat. Just then the other driver appeared at my window saying he could give me 35 cents. But that was all he had to spare. I retrieved the fallen dime…but was still a nickel short. I’m sure I was praying as I dug some more. Miraculously, I found the last nickel.
I can’t describe the relief that washed over me as I threw all my coins in the slot, watched the light turn green, and sped off down the ramp to my friends. Just like my dog, I couldn’t have redeemed myself. Thankfully, God brought another driver who could supply exactly what I lacked to save me from the hefty fine I would have been assessed.
As I reflected on these two incidents, I realized they had some significant things in common. In both instances, there was a set price for redemption. In both instances, outside help was needed to pay. And for this reason, both situations offer an earthly window into a far greater heavenly truth—that we need a Savior to pay the price for our sin.
According to Hebrews 9:22, “The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” In Old Testament times, God’s people observed a complicated system of animal sacrifice. But this payment only served as temporary redemption. New sins required new sacrifices.
Not so the sacrifice of God’s Son. When Jesus, our Messiah, the Lamb of God, gave His sinless life for our sins, it redeemed us once and for all time—if we put our faith in Him. Hebrews 9:11-12 explains, “When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.”
When Munchie was redeemed from that shelter, he still couldn’t care for himself. He needed a loving master to nurture him. Angie made certain this need was met and I am privileged to be Munchie’s new human mommy and adoring caregiver. When I was redeemed from sin by faith in my loving Messiah, He led me to believers who could nurture me and grow me in my faith. He is still providing for my spiritual nurture—and using me to provide it for others.
Angie delights in saving dogs from death and placing them in loving families. God delights in saving us and adopting us into His. Have you let Him redeem you so you can spend eternity in His care?
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).
Consider This:
When was the last time someone did something for you that you couldn’t do for yourself? How did it help you? How did it affect your relationship with that person? How does that help you understand what Jesus did for you?
The Best Gift Ever
Receive and Rejoice
Giving is true having.
CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON
Christa’s father had endured an emotionally difficult year. He’d lost a best friend to cancer. A friend’s marriage had imploded. And when his beloved five-year-old Jack Russell terrier was stricken with a degenerative neck injury, he was the one who took Sammy to the vet to be put down. It was especially painful because Sammy was a lap dog and Dad’s lap was Sammy’s lap of choice to curl up on.
Christa and her family knew Dad was in a season of loss and grieving, so when Father’s Day loomed on the horizon, it was imperative to find an uplifting present. They wanted something that would lift his burdens and bring a long-term smile to his face. Up until now, tools had always been the gift category that never failed to please Dad. Screwdriver sets, drills, and saws had been greatly appreciated over the years. But now Dad had every tool he needed. And the hardware store had yet to carry a reliable tool to chase away the blues.
On the day Sammy was put down, Christa’s mom was at the drug store buying Dad a pet sympathy card when the check-out clerk asked about her loss and mentioned that her dog had recently given birth to a beautiful litter of shih tzu/Maltese-mix puppies—perhaps just the solution for Dad’s empty lap syndrome. Intrigued, Mom viewed photos of the puppies on the clerk’s cell phone right there at the register. They were adorable! Available for Father’s Day delivery too. A few hours later, while Dad took a nap, Christa, her younger brother, and mom snuck out of the house to visit the puppies in person. It was love at first sight. Even the younger brother who’d been opting for a Rottweiler was won over. They all agreed: the lone little boy in the litter could be the perfect Father’s Day gift for Dad.
Could be, not would be. It wasn’t a sure thing. Christa and her family had a few details to mull over. They wanted to surprise Dad, but what if he didn’t like this puppy? What if the puppy didn’t like him? They hadn’t discussed getting a new dog as a family. What if, after losing Sammy, Dad wasn’t ready for a replacement?
Christa considered showing her dad the pictures. She thought about having him accompany them to look at the puppies and make his own choice. But finally, they decided that surprise was to be a crucial element of this Father’s Day gift.
Christa’s mom emailed the three other siblings who w
ere no longer living at home. Everyone agreed the boy was the one. They all pitched in money to share the cost of the new puppy and hoped and prayed he would be right for Dad.
On Father’s Day, while Dad was still asleep, his family woke up at 6:00 a.m. and tiptoed out to gather the dog, bed, and food. With the puppy safely concealed in a picnic basket under a mound of fabric, they snuck everything under the kitchen table before Dad awoke. The tension was as thick as a special ops military maneuver, especially with worrying whether or not this puppy would bark and ruin the surprise. Mom made Dad a cup of coffee as the kids led him into the kitchen. As he sat down, he quizzically looked under the table at the picnic basket. That’s when it jumped, and Dad made eye contact with his Father’s Day gift peeking out from under the red and white gingham. All he could say was, “How amazing!” He picked up the furry little guy and put him on his lap. Perfect fit. As the out-of-town kids phoned home, Dad said the same thing he said to those at the house, “It was the best gift ever!”
The newest member of this coffee-loving family was soon christened Maxwell Starbucks Evans III (Max for short).
The best gift ever!
Christa’s family was amazed at how a tiny little guy like Max could lift a weight not even a forklift could budge—Dad’s downcast spirit and heavy heart. The family thanked God for the miracle of a puppy.
Likewise, God sent another “tiny” miracle to lift off the immeasurable burden of sin from the human race. In His wisdom, God didn’t materialize His only Son, Jesus, into the world as a sandal-wearing, bearded adult, but as an innocent little baby in a manger.
Like a puppy in a picnic basket.
Like the reason we celebrate Christmas.
The best gift ever!
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12 NKJV).
Consider This:
What is the best gift you’ve ever received from another human being? Who gave it to you? What made it so special? How did it affect your life? Have you ever received the best gift ever from God?
God’s Plum Jam
Mix Some Sweet with the Bitter
Kind words can be short and easy to speak,
but their echoes are truly endless.
MOTHER TERESA
I shed actual tears of laughter over a humorous tidbit of writing that made the rounds on the Internet years ago. It was about how to give a cat a pill. In the course of multiple tries, the house and the human were wrecked, and the pill never did go down. This delightful essay ended with how to give a dog a pill—just wrap it in something tasty and it’s gobbled right up.
Alas, when my little Pomeranian, Becca, got a tooth root abscess, my vet prescribed a liquid medication.
My initial, clumsy efforts to administer this liquid with a dropper threatened to give me a cat-type experience with my dog. I tried to force the dropper into her mouth and she freaked out. I may have gotten a little bit of liquid into her, but clearly this was not going to work. I called the vet’s office and begged for a pill substitute. They said they’d arrange it.
Then, I had a sudden revelation. Maybe something sweet would help the liquid medication go down. I had a little plum jam in the fridge. I knew grapes and raisins were toxic to dogs, but plums weren’t on the poison list. And the jam was sweetened with sugar rather than something like xylitol, which can be fatal to dogs in even tiny amounts. Maybe I could mix Becca’s medicine with a dab of this jam and get her to lick it off the bottom of her dish. I administered the next dose this way…and Becca slurped it right up.
This experience taught me a lot about myself. I had gone into authoritarian mode, focusing only on the task of getting the needed medicine down Becca’s throat. I hadn’t stopped to think how rough and scary this must feel to her—and my own fears about her fighting the dropper made my efforts needlessly clunky. Once I took a step back, I realized there was a kinder, gentler way to get the task accomplished. That little bit of sweet changed the taste of her medicine just enough that my dog licked it up happily and without the stress.
I have experienced this plum jam principle in my own life too. In my case the medicine was career-related. Years ago I wrote for animated television shows. At one point, I was on staff with a major studio. I was blessed to have a story editor supervising me who had not only won numerous awards, but was a marvelous mentor. I was struggling, though. I felt frustrated and inadequate. I was terrified of failure. Not just my job, but my self-esteem, hung in the balance. This was not an optimal emotional place from which to learn.
My mentor was an encourager. One day, he said something to me that was balm to my battered self-image. He had been pleased by the emotional thrust of one of my stories. He told me I had the heart to do this kind of writing—and the rest could be learned. Those words of kindness and encouragement were like plum jam. They cut the bitter taste of how much I still had left to work on—and gave hope and the will to go on.
Becca needed physical medicine. I needed my writing skills to be doctored. We all need spiritual dosing from our Great Physician on a daily basis. Though Jesus paid for our sins on the cross and we are forgiven through faith in Him, life on earth is an ongoing process of having our spiritual warts removed by a loving and caring God. At times, that process can be much more bitter and painful than we’d like. But in His marvelous grace, God has given us plum jam to help us through. He has given us His Word and His Spirit, not only to guide and refine us, but to comfort us. But that’s not all! Check out the plum jam in Hebrews 4:14-16: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Becca didn’t get any less medicine because it was mixed with plum jam. If anything she got more—because she didn’t fight it. For her, this made the dosage easier to swallow. It was easier for me to swallow tough critique when it was sweetened by the plum jam of heartfelt encouragement. We all need the plum jam of God’s grace and mercy when we hit a spiritual wall, and in Jesus we have a High Priest who can give each of us just the individual touch we need to keep walking with Him.
God wants us to be His instruments to soothe and encourage others too. He wants us to be spreaders of His plum jam. Is there someone you can encourage and uplift today?
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope (Romans 15:4).
Consider This:
Has anyone ever added plum jam to a bitter pill you had to swallow? Did it make things better? How? Have you ever done this for someone else? What happened?
Dog of Good Cheer
God Comforts Us
Your sorrow itself shall be turned into joy. Not
the sorrow to be taken away, and joy to be put in
its place, but the very sorrow which now grieves
you shall be turned into joy. God not only takes
away the bitterness and gives sweetness in its place,
but turns the bitterness into sweetness itself.
CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON
Nadja and her younger brother and sister were adopted from Russia when she was five years old. Her adoptive parents brought them from a sad, lonely existence to a warm, loving, Christ-centered home. Adopting all three of them allowed the children to comfort each other as they learned the ways of this new world. And their new parents gave them unconditional love.
But about one y
ear after they were adopted, they had to deal with a new loss. Their adoptive daddy died of cancer. Everyone was stricken with grief.
One day Nadja’s mom and uncle took the kids to see some golden retriever puppies. They ran all over the yard playing with their new four-footed friends, everyone smiling once again. They were told this was just a visit, but they could come back someday soon. Then they went back to their uncle’s home for dinner.
Nadja’s mom and uncle said they had to go to the store for something and would be right back. They left the children with other family members. When they returned, something was wriggling under Uncle’s shirt. Out came a happy, squirming golden retriever puppy—just for them. Now it was their turn to adopt. Rosie became a beloved member of the family.
Their new dog proved a great addition. They were joyful once more as they played with Rosie, hugged her, and cuddled with her while they read or watched TV. Rosie was a great comfort to Nadja. When sadness or loneliness swept her soul, she invited Rosie up on her lap. They would sit together as Nadja held her close. Rosie’s canine love was not a replacement for Nadja’s father, but it helped tremendously to fill the huge hole that had been left first by the loss of her birth parents, and then by the death of her American dad who loved her so very much.
Nadja had some tough times growing up. But her American mom was there for her and her brother and sister. Mom loved them dearly and also taught them about Jesus’s love, which is infinitely greater even than her own.
Part of that love involved discipline. Nadja learned about obedience from both her mom and her dog. Rosie wasn’t too good at minding the children, but when Mom came into the room Rosie ran to her, sat down, and waited for instruction. She knew Mom was boss. She also learned that if she was obedient, doggie biscuits were in her near future.