Devotions

Renewing My Tag

By this everyone will know you are my disciple, if you have love for one another. John 13:35 

Since it’s my birthday month, I was required to renew the tag on my truck and my trailer. The renewal notice came in the mail several weeks ago, so I sent the payment in and last week I received the new registration and sticker for the tag. Now it is legal to drive my vehicles for another year until I have to renew my registration again. 

I find it interesting that we can look at someone’s car tag and tell where they are from. Living in Athens we have quite a diverse student population at the University, and so there are car tags from all over the United States. Just today I have seen tags from Missouri, Ohio, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas. I guess you could say that our car tag is a type of identification tag indicating who we are by telling others where we lived before coming to the Classic City of Athens. 

For those of us professing to be Christians, there is no tag to identify us as such. The Bible claims that our identifying marker is how we love each other. If we live loving and caring lives, others will know that we follow Jesus Christ, the one who epitomizes unconditional love. Each of us is encouraged and admonished to live as loving disciples. 

You can look at my truck tag and know that I am a Georgia resident and live in Clarke County. I hope you can look at my life and see that I am a Christian, a disciple of Jesus. 

A Rich Life

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 
 
Peter Whatling lost his hammer. That’s how his day began in a farm field in Suffolk, England. He was a tenant farmer, and his hammer was a necessity for his farm work. He called his friend Eric Lawes to come over and help with the search. He knew Eric had just received a metal detector as a retirement gift. The two men set out looking for a hammer and found an oak box instead. When they opened the ancient box, they found an enormous treasure. Many other items in the field came to light after careful excavation. The Hoxne (pronounced hoxon) Hoarde was estimated to be worth $3.8 million. It’s quite something to set out looking for a hammer and instead you come upon something of unexpected value. 
 
What are you most often hunting for these days? The remote control? Your cell phone? A functional pen? Every day brings us some opportunity to engage in some kind of hunt. We generally know what we need to live and to accomplish our work, so those basic things are often what we are searching for: useful things like a hammer. How wonderful to be surprised during an ordinary search for an ordinary tool by finding an extraordinary treasure. Peter Whatling and Eric Lawes ultimately shared the treasure they found, and they located the hammer too. As Christians, we sign on for a search as well. Our pursuit isn’t ordinary. We choose to embark on an extraordinary journey of faith headed straight for the Kingdom of God. Treasure has already been given to us in Christ. We have untold riches of love and grace at our fingertips. Who is looking for peace? Who is desperate for wisdom? Who is aching for compassion? Who is longing for mercy? I am, and I’m certain others are too. I’d be interested to see the Hoxne Hoarde one day, but it won’t compare to the unbelievable riches we’ve inherited through Jesus Christ. We’re seeking some “one,” not some “thing.” I don’t know what you’re on the hunt for right now, but I do know where you can expect to find great value. Seek first the Kingdom of God. That holy search leads to a rich life.