“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world not to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16-17
Today’s Christian daily devotional
“Yippee!” Laura’s long legs swished into her infamous backflip, landing perfectly in front of the bedroom door.
I was used to her showing off her latest gymnastic moves. So, the precision of Laura’s flawless performance didn’t quite impress me.
“What’s got your panties in a bunch?” I recite the words I have heard my father say with a giggle while adding the finishing touches on my Barbie’s beach ensemble.
“My mom promised that if we cleaned my room really good she would take us to…” Laura paused dramatically trying to wrangle my full attention. I looked up, playing right into her theatrics.
“Well?” Laura’s feet danced excitedly as she tried to contain herself; I knew this had to be good.
“Toys R Us!” She squealed like a soda pop that had been shaken.
Grabbing my arms, Laura pulled me up of the floor. We both twirled in glee like most seven-year old girls naturally do.
I reached into my jean pocket and felt my precious five-dollar bill; this was my nervous habit. It made me feel better to know my fortune was still safe and sound.
After washing many dishes, folding piles of laundry and taking out enough trash, I understood the value of it. That five-dollar bill never left my right pocket during the day; and at night I would tuck it safely inside my pillowcase.
Patiently I had waited for the day when I could take trade it in for something pink, plastic and priceless…
My imagination went wild at the thought of what I would do with it.
“Stop twirling! We got some cleaning to do!” I snapped Laura out of her spinning frenzy; and we focused our energy on making her messy room as presentable as possible—as quickly as we could.
Within the hour Laura’s mom was pulling her Mercedes up to the Mecca of all toy stores. The familiar face of my favorite giraffe greeted us at the automatic door. I nodded at the giant inflatable animal respectfully.
As the glass doors slid open, the fantastic scent of air conditioning combined with plastic toys filled my lungs.
The ceilings looked like they went straight up to heaven, the building was so tall. I grabbed Laura’s hand as we walked past the hula-hoops and rows of bikes of every kind and color.
“Here’s the isle I think you girls are looking for.” Laura’s mother pointed straight ahead, smiling warmly.
Mrs. P. knew us all too well. Surrounding us on both sides, on every shelf, there was every kind of doll that a girl could dream of having.
“Look, Laura! There’s even a whole section just for doll clothes!” I gasped.
“Take your time. I’ll be right over here.” Finding an empty spot on the rack of bikes, Mrs. P. pulled a paperback from her purse and settled in as comfortably as she could.
“Jules!” Laura squealed, “I found my baby!” she pointed to a blonde haired, blue-eyed Cabbage Patch doll that looked exactly like her.
“Elsie May is her name.” Laura grabbed the awkward box and clutched it to her chest.
While she skipped down the isle to show her mother, I checked the price sticker on the shelf. Fifty dollars? The number might just as well have been a million for me. Scooting down the row, I found the section that had smaller, less expensive babies. Perhaps, they needed love as well. Why should a lack of “official” adoption papers affect that?
After poking around for a few minutes, I came to the sad conclusion that my measly five dollars would barely get my Barbie a decent outfit, let alone a whole new baby!
I quickly glanced down the isle, just to make sure that I wasn’t being deserted. Mrs. P. was leaning over and whispering into Laura’s ear. Laura smiled while shaking her head in agreement. She dashed off towards me before her mother could finish whatever it was that she was whispering.
“Momma said you could adopt a Cabbage Patch, too!” She called loudly from the end of the isle.
Her mother got up from the bike racks and trailed behind the excited mop of yellow hair bouncing around in front of her.
“If Laura were to get a baby doll, I think it would get very lonely without any friends. Don’t you agree?” Mrs. P. started moving the boxes of Cabbage Patch dolls and handing them to Laura.
“Oh, yes. I agree, Momma!” Her bright blue eyes were sparkling.
“Really, Mrs. P?” I wasn’t prepared for this, but I was willing to work hard for the opportunity to adopt a stuffed baby of my very own. “I’ll rake your leaves every week.” I was already smiling at the thought of having my very own Cabbage Patch doll.
“No, it would be a gift, Julia. You wouldn’t have to do a thing. In fact, if you do, that would just take the joy out of it for me.” Mrs. P. swallowed her words softly.
That day, I went home with a stuffed bald little boy named Xavier Rupal. He didn’t look a thing like me, but I felt he needed me to be his momma.
In John 3:16-17 we are reminded of the precious gift of Jesus. Not one of us could ever pay the price for our eternal freedom; our sins have been too great for them to ever be covered by ourselves.
It took the sacrifice of God’s sinless Son to cover the debt of the world. This is not only a global gift, but a very personal one as well.
God never intended for man to earn his way into heaven. Yet many still flatly refuse the free gift He has offered, hoping to figure out their eternal destiny without Him.
Don’t pass up this free gift. When you ask Jesus into your heart, God signs your adoption papers and no matter what your bloodline is on earth, you become a child of God. It really can’t get any better than that.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
I want this free gift of salvation. It sounds almost too simple and easy to be the way.
But, I have not found the peace that I have been searching for through any other source. Could Jesus bring the peace that my heart craves?
Lord, I humble myself like a child before you. I admit that I am ignorant in the ways of enlightenment. I drop all my human reasoning. I open my heart to searching just for YOU. I don’t need the praise of man, just the touch of God on my life.
I am asking Jesus to come into my heart, cleanse me from the sins I have been running from and hiding from you, Lord. Give me a new heart and new desires. Fill me with the power of your Holy Ghost and open my heart to receive all the love you have for me that I am so desperate for. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Thank you for reading today’s Christian daily devotional on verses: John 3:16-17
Please check back and see what we have for you tomorrow!
Author: Julia Shalom Jordan