I remember when the Nike Cortez tennis shoes became popular at my school. Many of my friends had them & it was the first time that I noticed brands.
My first pair of the famous shoe wasn’t the lavish leather one, but a nylon knockoff with a light blue logo. I remember feeling fancy when I wore them.
This morning, as I read the account of the Israelites fleeing Egypt, that memory about the Nikes surfaced.
On the very day of their rescue, Moses exhorts the 600,000 Israelites to remember, “the day you left your slavery.” He declares an annual festival to celebrate what the Lord has done so that it,
“will be a visible sign to you, a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the Lord, ‘With a strong hand the Lord rescued us from Egypt.‘“
As I read the sentence above, 3 words glared off the page:
“A mark branded”
It was a brand mark of remembrance.
As I recalled how superficially special I felt with my new Nikes, I thought how THIS kind of brand is an eternal one.
It’s a mark that remembers great deliverance from slavery & a ransom of first borns from death. (Read Ex 12:28-42! I’s WAY better than Netflix!)
Even though this is the history of the Israelites, it’s also a foreshadowing for us! We are ALL in need of rescue & we have the final Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, who shed His blood so that we too might be rescued from our Egypt!
I felt fancy in my nylon Nikes, but how much more fancy do we feel when we remember the much from which we’ve been saved & that our eternal future is secure?
Jesus died so we might live an abundant life marked by His Presence! Anyone whose accepted Jesus as their Savior & Lord has entered a brand deal of sorts - but we get the best end of the deal!
Our lives are ransomed from eternal death & all we need do is accept His forgiveness, receive Him as our Savior & allow our lives to become branded with His Lordship!
Oh Jesus, brand our lives with your Lordship! Worries fall, perfection pales & strivings cease when we come underneath the mark of Your Presence. May we represent Your brand well, with a life marked by undeserved forgiveness & a lavish love only You can provide!
EXODUS 12:14-13:16
MATTHEW 20:29-21:22
PSALM 25:16-22
PROVERBS 6:12-15
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