The Foundling

May 15, 2020 Daily thought and prayer

Ephesians 2: 4 – 8

⁴But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Many years ago between the Wars, a wee boy who was good with his hands collected up offcuts from his father’s joinery workshop. He put them to good use and made a model sailing ship, then pestered his mother for some material to make sails from and string for the rigging.

When the boat was ready he launched it on the local lake and had many days of fun sailing it. Until that is one day the wind shifted suddenly and sent the boat into the reeds at the edge of an island in the middle. He tried everything he could think of to free it all to no avail. Every day he would walk past the lake to see if it had freed itself but sadly it only seemed to get further into the reeds.

Then one morning after a stormy night it was no longer there, overjoyed that it was now free the boy excitedly ran right round the shore line to see where it was. Alas, it was nowhere to be seen. Broken hearted he assumed it must have sunk but he still looked occasionally just in case it resurfaced, but it never did.

Out shopping in town one day with his mum they passed a second hand goods shop. And there, in the window, in a corner was His boat!!!!!

He ran into the shop and excitedly told the man how he had made the boat and sailed it and how it had become stuck and he thought he had lost it forever but now it was here. The shopkeeper listened then told him that was as may be, but he had bought the boat from another boy, and if he wanted it it would cost him fifteen shillings. An enormous sum in those days when his shilling a week pocket money was all his riches.

His mother and the shopkeeper had a talk and it was agreed that he would not sell the boat to anyone else provided the boy came in and paid a shilling a week until it was paid for.

This he did every Saturday until the great day nearly four months later when he paid off the final instalment. He did not want it wrapped as the shopkeeper offered instead he took up in his arms.

Hugging it closely he went home repeating over and over “I made you, I found you and I bought you and saved you. You are mine three times over.

God created us, and looked for us when we were lost, then paid for us with Jesus death when the price had to be paid.

We are three times his, and we will never be lost again.