I am such a lucky man!
While many wives long for fancy clothes or diamonds and beautiful jewelry, my wife is thrilled when I give her a load of manure!
Don’t get me wrong, Ana loves all the finer things in life (just look in her walk-in closet if you want proof), but her greatest joy is digging in the dirt. She has a 10,000 square foot, fenced-in, vegetable garden and everyday after work that’s the first place she heads.
Ana is always looking for ways to make her garden produce more, so she was understandably thrilled when our neighbors, Amy and Jerry, offered to give us the huge pile of horse manure sitting in their field. So, borrowing our other neighbor, Nancy’s old pickup truck, I spent Tuesday afternoon hauling load after load of smelly, decaying, steaming “horse puckies” to our garden.
Why did I do this? Why did I spend my afternoon shoveling manure, instead of doing something really fun, like cleaning the bathroom? Why? Because I love, love, love this crazy woman! And, for Ana, nothing says love like a few loads of manure!
Hebrews 12:2 tells us Jesus, “For the joy set before him…endured the cross, scorning its shame…” What joy? The joy of seeing our faces when He comes to rescue all who have believed in Him. The joy of spending eternity with the ones He loves and who love Him in return.
What Real Love Is All About
I shoveled manure for Ana yesterday, because I love her, but this pales in comparison to what Jesus did for you and I. Romans 5:8 says, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus didn’t wait till we deserved it. Instead He stepped into the manure with us, becoming one of us, so He could lift us out of the smelly mess we’d gotten ourselves into.
This morning Jesus stands with His hand outstretched to you. Why wallow in the manure any longer? Take His hand today. Accept Him as your Savior and Friend. Let Him lift you out of the muck and show you what real love is all about – a love that will not let you go!