My hand rose slowly over my head and released the kite to the gentle wind. Upward it rose, playfully tugging at the line like an eager puppy on a leash. As more line was released, it swooped higher almost as if it were alive. Watching it soar on the wind caused me to marvel at its vitality and willingness to fly. Not too long ago, the kite was on a shelf in my shop where it sat quiet and unmoving. In the shop it did not appear to have any life at all, but now it seemed to be bursting with an abundance of life. What had caused the difference? The wind had produced this effect on the kite. It was not what the kite had done for itself, but the wind that made this dead object come to life.

This reminds me of how God sees us. In Ephesians 2:1 we are taught, "And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sin." God looks down on mankind and sees us dead. Our lungs breathe air and our heart pumps blood, but God sees us dead, spiritually dead, before Him.

Up to now your life probably has included the grasping for material goods, a desire for more money, an indulgence in earthly pleasure, and the desire for positional power. You thought these would give your life zest, happiness and security. The material goods deteriorated, broke and faded away. Money was spent too fast and there never seemed to be enough. Earthly pleasures satisfied only for a brief moment and had to be indulged in again and again. The quest for power produced cold, shallow relationships and an emptiness in your heart. The failure of the above to satisfy your desperate needs has left you feeling dead, for nothing of this world can give real life. We are taught in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death." So mankind, like the kite on the shelf, is dead, and in the view of God needing someone to give us life.

John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Christ Himself in John 10:10, 28 said, "I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. . . I give unto them eternal life."

But how can He give me life? you might be asking. How can I get out of this downward spiral of death? The Cross is the answer to your question. That is where God laid upon His Son all the punishment for your sin, that you through His death and resurrection might have life. Like the kite lifted upon the wind, Christ alone can lift you from sin, death and hell.

Reader, right now you, as a sinner before God, can acknowledge your need of life, and accept the provision made by believing on the Lord Jesus as Saviour. "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). This life will lift you up and bring you true happiness.

—A.D. Thompson

In lovingkindness Jesus came
My soul in mercy to reclaim
And from the depths of sin and shame
Through grace He lifted me.