4480
Pt. 1
I will allow him to tell the story (paraphrased)
My family didn't have much when I was a child. We just got by. And, as you might imagine, when it came time for Christmas, my seven siblings and I got just one gift.
My mother, in particular, was very practical. (Considering my parent's income, she had to be). As a result, each of us received "sensible" gifts for our birthdays and Christmas.
I was eight or nine when the holidays rolled around that year, and on Christmas day, my parents lined us up in the living room; from the oldest to the youngest.
Now, mama walked down the line, and handed each one of us a custom wrapped gift; each one a duplicate of the previous one.
Stripping off the red and gold wrapping paper, my brothers, sisters and I found ourselves holding... matching pillows.
(I kid you not).
And now, without exception, each and every one of us smiled the biggest smiles we'd smiled in a long time.
You see, we were used to sleeping on old hand me down pillows.
The pillows we held in our hands were large, comfortable, clean, and white, and covered with pillow cases bearing illustrations of sun flowers.
Pt. 2
We had all been laying our heads on old, worn out pillows for years, and we were thrilled to get something soft and clean. Tonka trucks and baby dolls, (depending on our respective gender), was the last thing on our minds that day.
I simply could not wait to lay my head down on my prized possession that Christmas night.
And after dining on a simple meal of turkey, and dressing, and green beans, and corn on the cob, mama kissed us, and shooed us off to our bedrooms.
I had already laid my pillow exactly where I would plop my head down that evening. And without further adieu, I eased my head down on my beautiful "rectangular cloud" and pulled my old gray cover up around my neck.
Oh, how good that new Christmas pillow felt!
However, as I moved my head, I felt something rough rub against my neck. Suddenly, I wasn't all that comfortable.
Making sure my door was closed, I turned on my bedside lamp, and examined my pillow. It was then I saw it. A three by two inch label. I began to read it.
"All new cotton pillow case, and pillow. Sterile chicken feathers."
And then, my gaze shifted downwards, and I read the last line of print...
"Under penalty of law, do NOT remove this label."
Now, I read those nine words a second time, and I thought,
"What? Are you kidding me?"
(and)
"I've never even heard of the Pillow Label Police!"
(But, I could just see a couple of the men in blue wearing specially designed badges, engraved with those three words, knocking on our front door)!
It was then that I summoned up the courage to... tear the label off the pillow! Noone was going to tell me I had to lay my head against that rough label for the next several years!
And with this, I stuffed the label down beneath whatever happened to be in my trash basket at the time.
Pt. 3
Which leads me to the implication of Rev. Hill's message...
Tear Off the Label!!!
As a counselor I have met with multiplied thousands of men, women, boys and girls over the years. And I can tell you, one of the most egregious characteristics I have encountered is the presence of "labels" in their lives, and the genesis of these labels was, more often than not, during their formative years.
Some were told they were too stupid to amount to anything.
Others were told they were too ugly, and would never find someone to love them.
Some were teased about a physical characteristic.
Others were tormented about a speech impediment.
And then, there are those who have managed to label themselves, and have accused themselves, and mischaracterized themselves all their lives.
Well, my friends. It's time to tear off the labels!!!
I love a line in the Victorian novel, "Jane Eyre"...
"Your wounds are sad to behold, but you are NOT your wounds."
We must not allow our wounds to characterize us!
Whoever said "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me" didn't have a clue what they were saying.
It behooves us as believers to throw off the verbal and psychological shackles which have kept us bound for far too long. And we simply can't do this by accident. Only wrecks happen by accident. It has to be done on purpose. It is a whole new mindset.
Our Lord has said, "I have loved you with an everlasting love."
And when someone asked Him how much He loved us, He spread His arms out to His side, and received those ghastly wounds in His hands, and shouted,
"THIS much!"
Tear off those labels which have characterized you for far too long, my friend! The only "Label Policeman" is our soul's natural enemy, and he is a defeated foe! Our Lord has loved you with an everlasting love, and He has given you a new label.
"Declared worthy and ever loved of the Father. Property of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Sons and Daughters of the Most High God!"
by Bill McDonald, PhD
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