Devotion: Born to Die

The other night I heard the song by Steppenwolf, Born to Be Wild. It brought back memories of Junior High and High School - that song had legs! When it came on the radio, my friends and I turned the volume up, and da-da-da'd through the verses, and on the chorus belted out, "Born to be wi-l-d," and played air guitar or in my case, drums. Oh, were we wild.

Born to be wild. Born to -- you fill in the blank. Sometimes we watch sports and think someone like Michael Jordan was born to play basketball. As a wee child, Julie Andrews opened her mouth, and a voice with a four-octave range flowed forth. She was born to sing.

During this season, I've reflected on Jesus Christ's mission. He taught like no other. But men and women have been anointed to teach. He healed the sick, yet gave the same power to the disciples. "He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness (Matthew 10:1 niv)."

Jesus performed miracles. We read in Acts that God did extraordinary miracles through Paul.

Jesus taught, healed the sick, and performed miracles, but He was born for something much greater. He was born to die.

Mary, Joseph, the disciples, Paul. None could perform a task He alone came to earth to accomplish. I sing a song called, Mary, Did You Know. The baby Mary delivered would deliver her - and us. His blood alone atones for sin. "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."

As an eight-year old girl, I stood up front in church one morning, and sang a song a capella. I don't even remember the song, but I do remember the grownups hovering around me after church. "Oh, honey, you were born to sing!" "Donna, you must use your talent for the Lord." And I did for several years.

Then life - banking and babies, housework and hum-drum, overcame my song. I threw myself into my mission of motherhood. My mom made me proud by saying I was born to be a mom.

Now I write. I love it. I can't imagine not writing now. Was I born to write? To sing? To be a mother? In whatever area of ministry He leads, I pray I accomplish my mission.

One thing I know - if I shed every drop of blood in my body, I could not atone for even one person's sin. I thank Jesus Christ that He fulfilled His purpose. During the Christmas holidays, I feel a twinge of sadness because even though we celebrate His birth, I know Jesus Christ was born to die.

But hallelujah, He arose to live again. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again (II Corinthians 5:15 niv). And even though I will one day die, because of His sacrifice, I, too, will live again.

Let's praise Him and vow to fulfill the purpose God has for our lives - as scribes and singers, guitar players or poets, parents, grandparents - as Christians.
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Témoignage

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
1 Corinthians 12:27-28 (New King James Version)

I couldn’t wait to get to Sunday School. My teacher, a lovely, gentle woman, shared the most wonderful stories with us each week. And we got to do a craft, a puzzle, or a coloring page.

So what if I’d been made fun of? When we studied the Beatitudes, and the teacher asked what we thought Jesus meant when He said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” I didn’t know what ‘righteousness’ was, but it sounded to me like we’d never be thirty or hungry anymore. This sounded like a wonderful thing to a nine-year-old girl, the oldest of five children, whose pantries never held an abundance of food or drink. The older children in the group laughed, but my teacher patiently explained that this hunger wasn’t a physical hunger, but a spiritual one.

That experience opened my eyes to the spiritual realm. Something existed beyond me? A great revelation for a child.

The next week, I skipped into class and stopped dead short. “Where’s my teacher?” I almost cried on the spot. I’ll never know why she didn’t come, but I do know that we had a substitute, and a man at that! What was HE doing in here?

He probably wondered the same thing. That morning he taught us the basics. What does it mean to be ‘saved’? He talked about heaven, and what Jesus had sacrificed so that I could spend eternity in such a wonderful place.

That morning at the end of our church service, I ran down the aisle to the altar, kneeling, and committing my life to Jesus Christ. When I stood up and turned around, my dad was right behind me crying – one of the only times I’ve ever seen him cry.

I’ve thought many times about that teacher. In hindsight, I realize the Superintendent had probably drafted him that morning, for he did not have a lesson prepared. He could have thrown together a haphazard lesson, reading from the book or passing out crayons and papers. But he allowed the Holy Spirit to direct him to share the simple, yet profound plan of salvation. Because he obeyed, my spiritual eyes were opened.

In what way will you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you today?

Prayer: God, help me to be sensitive to Your leading that I might be instrumental in leading others to You. Thank You for the people in my lifetime who have allowed You to lead them in a way that impacted my life in a positive and eternal way. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

Donna J. Shepherd © 2006 All rights reserved. No portion of this Website and no column may be reproduced BY ANYONE without WRITTEN permission BY DONNA. For more information, contact Donna by clicking on the link in the right-hand column. Thanks.