Thursday, January 8, 2004
A little word association exercise for today. What's the first word that comes to your mind when I say this name? Linus. Let me guess - blanket. Well, of course. Unless somehow in your life you've missed cartoondom's classic, "Peanuts" and the world of Charlie Brown and friends. And Linus is the little philosopher of the group, known most of all for his ever-present security blanket. And I mean ever-present. Everywhere this boy goes, he's dragging his precious blanket. Trying to separate him from his blanket is a hopeless cause. It's like, "Who am I without it?"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Linus Minus his Blanket."
Now, maybe we shouldn't be so amused by Linus and the security blanket he can't do without. Because most of us, maybe all of us, have a blanket of our own. Not literally, of course. But we're all pretty attached to something or someone that we really, really need. Maybe someone or something that to a significant extent defines who we are. Unfortunately, there comes a time in all our lives when we can't hang onto that blanket anymore. Sometimes, it's literally stripped from our hands.
For some of us - often us men - our job, our career, our title is an important security blanket. We don't realize how much of who we are is what we do until one day it's taken from us. Your strength or your health may be your security blanket. You may work pretty hard at keeping it. But it can be lost all too suddenly. Maybe it's your looks, your wealth, your ability, your family, or a person who is a big part of who you are. A security blanket can be something very good - but loseable. And when things beyond your control tear your blanket from your hands, you're left wondering - as you may be right now - who am I without it?
I guess the great myth is that anything or anyone we can lose can ever give us ultimate security. There's always this gnawing fear that it won't be there someday. We're created, though, for a security that always will be there - even when every other security blanket is gone.
That rock-solid security is defined for us in our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 8, beginning with verse 37. After talking about some of life's greatest tragedies, it says, "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers ... nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
There it is - unloseable love. Security beyond the reach of every disease, downsizing, divorce, depression, or disaster. When Jesus Christ died on the cross so the sin-wall between you and God could come down forever, He made it possible for you to know you belong to God, to never live a moment here or in eternity without being loved by Him. Without knowing it, you've been looking for this love all your life.
If you've lost a security you were depending on, it may be so you could finally realize how much you need Jesus - how much you've always needed Him. And this could be your day to finally put your total trust in Him to be your Rescuer from your sin - to remove the wall between you and the unloseable love of God.
He's reaching for you right where you are. Are you going to grab His hand? If you want to finally experience this anchor relationship with Jesus, tell Him that right now. I hope you'll let me send you my booklet "Yours For Life." Just let me know you want it.
Ultimate security is knowing you belong to Jesus Christ. And what you've lost may be what finally leads you to find Jesus - the one you can never lose.