1. What Do You Lack?
“The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?””
There is an expression, “not worth a plugged nickel.” To “plug” a coin means to cut out a core and fill it with less valuable metal.
The young man in our story may have felt like a “plugged nickel.” He felt something was missing from his life. Perhaps you as a Christian feel the same way. The young man wanted to do something concrete, not to become something, with new attitudes and values.
When I was a little girl in East Palestine, Ohio, there was a candy store across the street from our school. For a penny we could buy several pieces of candy. A nickel would purchase a wealth of licorice sticks, pumpkin seeds, lemon drops, jelly beans, or candy sticks — whatever we wanted at the moment.
We cannot buy what we lack in the Christian life, but we can ask Christ to give us what we need, a new focus for living. In the coming days we will consider five senses we may lack; five ways to replace the “plug” in our nickels. You may discover others as you think about these ideas.
For Reflection: What do I lack?
A Prayer Seed:
Come to the Saviour now,
He gently calleth thee;
In true repentance bow,
Before Him bend the knee;
He waiteth to bestow
Salvation, peace, and love.
John M Wigner, 1871
