Today’s Reading: John 17:15-17 (NIV)
15 [Jesus said,] “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by The Truth; Your Word is truth.”
Good morning!
Right after Jeff and I got married, one of our first big purchases together was an insurance package. It helped that Jeff had clerked for an insurance agent part-time while in high school and college. He knew a whole lot more about the different types of insurance, the coverage each plan provided, and what we would need to get started. We met with a representative from several agencies before deciding on the right package to cover our automobile, life, home, and health needs. We were young, healthy and eligible for virtually every plan on the market. Just starting out, it certainly seemed like an expensive venture, paying for something you could not tangibly see. Yet, this is one purchase I have never regretted making.
Our automobile insurance premiums paid for itself the day I totaled the family car. I had not intended to have an accident that day. That’s why we call it an accident. I was thankful to have an insurance company not only take care of the damage done to the other vehicle, but to hand me a check so that I could purchase another car to drive immediately. I hope I never another automobile accident again; yet, I know I could count on my insurance policy to cover me when I needed it most.
We didn’t plan on having a child born with a health problem. We thought our babies would all be born healthy, with no major adversities to overcome, at least, not initially. We were not prepared for the medical bills or the special care our son would need. The health insurance that took a good portion of our paycheck each week made a huge difference in helping us pay the medical debt we owed.
When our parsonage was ransacked and valuable personal items just before Christmas three years after we were married, we realized that we had somehow allowed our annual renters insurance policy to lapse. That unintentional mistake meant that we did not receive any remuneration for the items we lost in the theft. Not that any amount of money would have adequately replaced Jeff’s high school ring, our wedding bands, or his grandfather’s pocket watch. It was a lesson to us about the importance of having insurance in place, because, when you least expect it, that is when you need it the most.
Jesus’ prayer to the Father is guaranteed insurance for all who believe and receive. There is no question about the evil in this world; it exists and none of us are excluded from its presence. Jesus prays that the Father will not take us from the evils of this world, but that He supernaturally protect us from the evil one. This protection, came at a great cost to the Savior; it is a subscription that none of us would want to personally endure; yet, His is the only protection we need as we travel through this world. We know that the Father, Son and Spirit are Three in One, a holy mystery to humanity. When the Son asks the Father, the Father listens and answers His every prayer. We have Christ’s rock solid guarantee that while we may face every evil known to man, we do not have to face it alone. We have the guaranteed protection of our Father, because Jesus asked and the Father answered.
We do not generally plan to fall into sin or be effected by its ravaging results. We would prefer to avoid the disasters that continually happen all around us; those of our choosing, and the troubles that we seemingly have no control over. Sometimes, the people we love are caught in the middle of a situation we would have rather not experienced. We have His Word to assure us and insure us against the fall out. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you can thank Him today for His rock solid protection. You can rely on His Word, for His Word is the Truth.
Grace and peace,
Deb Spaulding
Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO
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