In a small mid-western town lived a young widow with her five-year-old son who had been born blind. After months of saving money, the young mother traveled to an Eastern city to see a doctor whom she was informed could give sight to her son.      

When told that the mother was not able to pay the normal fee, the surgeon replied that restoring the boy’s sight was the first priority.  Following several successful operations and long days and nights of waiting to remove the bandages from the boy's eyes a smile of delight came upon the boy’s face as he beheld his mother for the first time. "Mother," said he, "you are more beautiful than I ever dreamed you could be!"      

When the day came to leave the hospital, the lad wanted to give the doctor something, but the only thing he had was a small teddy bear which had been his companion since infancy. One arm was gone, one leg had lost its stuffing, one eye was missing, but the bear was still the dearest possession he had. Nonetheless, he gave it to the doctor and the doctor, under protest, reluctantly accepted it.      

When the boy and his mother arrived back home, a huge package awaited them in which was the biggest and finest teddy bear money could buy.  However, in the surgeon's office, carefully placed in a glass container sits a little  brown and battered teddy bear with one arm, a limp leg, and only one eye.  On a card in front of the bear are these words: "The largest single fee I ever received for professional services."      

This story is true. The boy gave something virtually worth nothing for something priceless, but it was all he had to give and his most precious possession.  Do you make the connection spiritually? Jesus died to give us a priceless possession-eternal life for our sin-sick and dying soul! We owe Him so much - for such a gift, but we have virtually nothing to give Him for it except our most precious possession-ourselves! What have you given the Lord for what He has given you?     

-Phil Johnson      

"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" - Rom. 5:8b