Just an Old Stuffed Toy

It is raggedy. It smells. Sometimes it is slimy and unpleasant to touch. It is a dirty green. It has been chewed and mangled. It is old and worn. The squeaky box inside stopped working a long time ago. It has been buried and dug up. It has been washed several times. It is loved. You guessed it! It is the loved toy of a dog.

The more we think about this toy, the more it sounds like us. Sometimes we are raggedy, slimy and smelly. We have been washed several times and buried and dug up. Before we met Jesus we were dead in our sins, but He restored us and gave us a new life that will never end. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. John 5:24.

The loyalty of a dog to her treasured stuffed frog is matched and exceeded by God’s love for you and me. We look in the mirror and realize we are not part of the world’s beautiful people and further, life can take its toll. But maybe that is confusing pretty and handsome with beautiful. Pretty and handsome are what is on the outside. Beauty is what comes from within

Written July 27, 2004