I had a conversation with Kathy a week ago, who celebrated her 50th birthday last July. She told her daughters,” I do not want a surprise party because I might be out of town.”
Her grand birthday plans began to unfold as she revealed her selfless heart and her love for Christ!
Last year, she celebrated her special day surrounded by friends and family wearing red hats as they worked together to fill fifty shoeboxes. Like I mentioned before, Kathy did not need or want the fifty shoeboxes and they were not for her.
Instead of excepting material gifts for herself on her birthday, perhaps more red hats, she asked for alternative gifts to fill the shoeboxes. The boxes were sent through Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child, to children all over the Kingdom. The birthday boxes that Kathy and her friends and family filled helped to spread the gospel, the promise of Christ, the Red Letters we read about in scripture.
Do you ever think about the Red Letters in the Bible?
I certainly do – and I know Tom Davis and Kathy do too!
Tom Davis shares in his book Red Letters, the importance of living a faith that bleeds. He describes, “living the red letters life is living a transformed life – a life where the needs of the poor and the diseased rank high on your “what’s important” list.”
Seems to me… Kathy has her priorities straight. Her “what’s important” list aligns with what is written in the gospel of Mark.
My conversation with Kathy made me think twice about my own life. Living a selfless life requires putting the needs of others before yourself and that is exactly what she did on her birthday. It’s what the Red Letters call us to do.
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Matthew 16: 25-28
I admit, it can be a struggle to put the needs of others before yourself everyday. Dying to myself and living for Christ can be a challenge. But, it’s a challenge I want to take.
Are you willing to lose your life for the sake of the Red Letters or do you have some favorite things that are higher on your priority list?
