Security

On “Black Friday” I hopped in the car around 10:00 a.m. (no 4:00 a.m. for this girl, no way!) and began to make my way out of the neighborhood. I turned on the car radio in hopes of finding some Christmas music. I wasn’t expecting to hear what I heard. It was on a commercial break, and since it caught me off guard and I was paying attention to the road (!), I can’t remember it exactly, but it went something along these lines…

A young man has just purchased the perfect engagement ring for his girlfriend and is so excited to give it to her for Christmas. You hear her unwrap it, there’s a pause, and then she says in a very disappointed tone, “Oh.” He asks, “Don’t you like it?” She says that it’s nice, but she was really hoping for (company name) insurance. After a brief blurb by the announcer, you hear the mother of the girlfriend say through tears and sniffling, “I just wanted her to feel secure!”

Now don’t get me wrong. I know that this scenario is contrived and over the top. It is a silly commercial meant to grab your attention (it did!) and sell a product. It was the underlying message though, that left me unsettled. Here is someone who is offered an engagement ring, a symbol of love that is supposed to last for her lifetime, and she would rather have been given insurance…something that would have to be paid for year after year, and has terms and limits.

It was a reminder to me of the incredible gift of love that we received in that manger so long ago. Our Savior was born in humble surroundings, walked among us, and loved us so much that He gave His very life so that all who believe would be eternally secure and with Him forever. I know this. I believe this. How easy it is though, to forget and look for an insurance plan…something tangible that I can see and hold on to so that I can feel secure. Two years ago this month, I was in Texas on tour with my husband and children when my purse was stolen out of our van. We suddenly entered a whirlwind of police reports, dumpster diving, viewing video surveillance cameras, and making numerous phone calls to banks and credit card companies. I felt completely vulnerable and scared. I understood the damage that could be done if your personal and financial data falls into the wrong hands, and the havoc it can wreak on your life. This happened half way through the trip. For twelve days, I could do nothing but wait…wait for the police to call, wait to get home so that I could do more necessary paperwork, and “re-build” my life on paper. I was completely reliant on my husband (he was awesome through all of this, by the way!) for everything I needed, down to asking him for money to buy a drink at a mini-mart. It felt strange and awkward not to have a purse. It was unsettling to realize how much our identity on this planet is tied up in plastic and numbers.

The Lord gently reminded me during this time that:

He knew me before He even created me.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” (Jeremiah 1:5a)

He created me.
“I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:14)

My identity is in Him.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

I am secure
“And I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:28-29)

Love or insurance? For me, it is a “no brainer.”

I choose Love.
I choose eternal security.