What’s Your Whistle Worth?
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance (1 Corinthians 15:3).
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Song: “Jesus, Thank You”
In The Man Who Dared the Lightning by Thomas Fleming, an incident is told from the life of Benjamin Franklin. When he was seven years old he was given some small change by a visitor. Later, he saw a boy playing with a whistle. Little Ben offered all his money for it. He really loved his new toy and played it all over the house.
One day he discovered he had paid four times what it was really worth. Instantly, the whistle lost its charm. Ben Franklin learned a valuable lesson, and later turned it into a life principle. As an adult, whenever he saw a man neglecting his family and abandoning his friends for wealth or power, he would say, “He pays too much for his whistle.” How true. Many a popular endeavor simply costs too much. Those deceptive whistles steal their last breath. However, one is worth it.
The apostle Paul was a one-whistle-man, and he never stopped making noise with it. He would play it to all within earshot. To casual observers, it looked like Paul was wasting his breath on an over-rated novelty picked up on the Damascus Road. Paul knew better. Unlike Franklin’s toy whistle, the gospel never lost its charm, because it never lost its worth. Jesus paid a high price for our whistle. No wonder we love it so much!
Dear Savior, let my breath be dedicated to making the gospel known! In Your name, amen.