The
Old Receipt
By Lexi Ellis
“There’s nothing
like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith
in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or
another - - showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes,
training us to live God’s way...”
2
Timothy 3:15 (The Message)
There’s
an old receipt in my car. It’s from Culver’s and on July 11, 2012, I bought a
small chocolate milkshake and fries. But I intentionally keep that receipt.
Why?
Because while I was filling up my car with gas, my husband (then fiancé)
grabbed a pen, scribbled on the back of that receipt and left it on my seat for
me to find. On the back, he wrote, “I love you. Let’s get married in 3 days.”
The
receipt isn’t treasured because of what I bought or the paper it was printed
on. It’s invaluable because of the note written to me by someone I love. It’s
the words on the back that are important. It’s the “meaningful-ness” of what
was written directly to me.
I
think God’s Word is like that old receipt. At first glance, someone might
assume the Bible is just a book or a free app on our phone. It’s easily
accessible and not of extreme monetary value. BUT God’s Word is more
meaningful than my old receipt. It tells a love story…one that’s been going on
for thousands of years. A story of an all-powerful God who has been reconciling
the relationship with His creation back to Himself. It tells of a redemptive
Savior who came to restore that relationship. It proclaims a Holy Spirit who
lives in us as we choose to put God first in our lives. That book of words or
app on our phone has incredible “meaningful-ness” because of what God has done
for us. “Yet while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” (Romans
5:8) How powerful the words in John
3:16 that God loved…God gave...we believe…we receive eternal life.
For
those of us who have been followers of Jesus for a while, it could get easy to
forget the power and “meaningful-ness” of the words in Scripture. How incredible
that God uses His timeless and true Word to communicate with His people. God
has written directly to us!
I
keep my old receipt because it’s a reminder of the love my husband expressed to
me in words. But I’ve realized I also need to remember the “meaningful-ness” of
Scripture. May we never devalue the love expressed in God’s Word!
Going
Further:
1.
Take the time to reflect on what God has done. Thank Him!
2.
Reflect on the awesome-ness of Scripture. What meaningful verses come to mind?
Going
Deeper:
Lexi is married to
Andrew, serves with Oakwood’s Children’s Ministries, teaches at Lake Country
Christian Academy and is the Fresh Start Coordinator.
