The Difference
Philippians 2:1 “If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life,…” – The Message
I found the following article on a website titled: www.clcaugustamo.org that describes a famous children’s story: “The Prince and the Pauper is a classic tale. Written by Mark Twain in the 19th Century, it tells the story of two boys in 16th Century England. They were identical to each other in their looks, but one of the boys lived in the king’s palace and the other lived in a shack. As the tale goes, one day the boys decided to switch places. Keeping it a secret, the prince put on the pauper’s ragged clothing and the pauper put on the royal garments of the prince. And for a while each boy lived in the other boy’s shoes. The pauper lived as a prince and the prince lived as a pauper. The story is intriguing and worth reading and it resembles the true story of our life in Christ. “The Word became flesh,” writes St. John. St. Paul says, “Our Lord Jesus Christ… though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor that you through His poverty might become rich.” Isaiah writes, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord…for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has clothed me with the robe of righteousness.” What does all this mean? It means that the Prince became a pauper, and we paupers are now clothed as a prince.“
When you realize Jesus traded places with you, becoming a pauper in order for you to become rich; in order for you to become a prince or princess – it should cause you to pause. His crucifixion and suffering should cause you to pause. As we approach the holidays, of Thanksgiving, and Christmas, this time should cause you to ask, “Has His love made any difference in my life?” Am I living up to who He created me to be or am I still living as a pauper? Is my life an expression of gratitude? Do I live wholeheartedly seeking to say, “Thank you!?”
Do you ever remember a time in which your parents or a loved one presented you with a gift that you had really wanted and desired? A gift that you had treasured in your heart? What was your response? Did you go to your piggy bank, wallet or purse and try to pay them for the gift? Absolutely not. What you did do was express as much heart-felt gratitude as possible. If you were a child you may have even been prone to work especially hard at any chore or responsibility you had been given simply as a way of saying, “Thank you!” Isn’t that the way your life should be lived towards Christ?
Has Jesus’ love made any difference in your life? Can anyone tell the difference it has made? More importantly, can Jesus see that you live a life of gratitude for all He has done for you and all He continues to do? Or are you still living like a pauper?
