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An
Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ at
Creekwood |
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How Much? Consider the Parable of Johnny Lingo… There was a young man named Johnny Lingo and a young woman named Mahanna who lived far away on exotic, tropical islands. Johnny was a handsome bachelor from one tropical island. Mahanna came from a good family on a nearby island. She had a pleasant personality, but she was shy and rather plain in appearance. However, Johnny saw her good qualities and fell in love with her. One day he arrived to ask her to marry him..... According to custom, a prospective bridegroom brought a dowry of cows to the prospective bride’s father – as a measure of his devotion and the bride’s desirability (worth) – usually three or four cows. An outstanding bride might bring five or six cows. Mahanna’s father expected to be offered only two cows. Johnny Lingo offered NINE cows for the hand of Mahanna! Johnny and Mahanna returned to his island after the wedding feast. Several months later, villagers saw Johnny arrive in his canoe. Who was the poised, beautiful woman with him? As she and Johnny walked through the village, people realized that the beauty was Mahanna – transformed from within by her new picture of herself. * The value of something is often determined by the price that is paid for it. Consider the value of a human soul in light of the price Jesus paid for the souls of mankind. Of Christians, Peter wrote: “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19). The
price that Jesus paid for the souls of mankind was not
so much a reflection of their worth, but of the
magnitude of the love of God. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). How
much?
The question is not “How
much are we worth?” but more.... How will YOU and I respond? The benefits of Christ’s death on the cross can be applied to our lives by accepting these gifts on His terms: trusting Him (Acts 16:30-31), repenting of our sins (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), being baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), and following Him for the rest of our lives (1 John 1:7; Revelation 2:10). Then by His grace, OUR lives are transformed from within because of the forgiveness, the purpose, and the hope that Jesus gives. Now, how much are YOU willing to surrender in order to receive the Gift? God bless you! David A. Sargent, Minister Church of Christ at Creekwood * adapted from Nick Stinnett’s retelling of the parable To Subscribe to "Living Water" send a blank e-mail to:
HTML version: subscribe-livingwater@lyris.dundee.net Follow this link to locate the church of Christ nearest you: www.churchzip.com Archived issues of "Living Water" can be accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org
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