Look at this awesome stamp. Can you believe it is approximately 100 years old?
This stamp was used in the days when horses and carriages traversed the streets, and when people wrote with nib and ink. Just think... your parents had not even been born yet.
Before computers and email, sending a letter was the only method of written communication. People put their messages in an envelope, paid for a stamp and then placed the stamp on the envelope before posting them. Their letters then went through the postal service, to be delivered to the address on the envelope. Have you ever used a stamp?
When you see an old stamp, take a moment to reflect and imagine. Who held that stamp? What message did it carry? Who created it and why was it made?
Every stamp represents a journey and a value, and people who collect AND LOVE stamps become “detectives” who try to understand the history of the stamp.
Can you see the word “Australia”? This means that the stamp was created in Australia.
Can you see the words “Postage 3d”? This is how much a person had to pay for the stamp. In those days they used Shillings and Penny’s. “3d” means “3 Penny’s” or “Three-pence”.
Can you see the black ink-mark on the stamp? This means that the stamp has been “cancelled” and cannot be used again. It is a “used” stamp. At the post office, each paper stamp gets an inked rubber stamp pressed onto it, and the imprint often reveals something of the journey and origins of the stamp.
Some of the most valuable stamps have unique “flaws” or “imperfections” on them. This means that the stamp is unique. Stamp collectors will pay staggeringly high prices to get one of these special stamps… stamps often sell for $1000 to $100,000 or more. This is how much some people love stamps.
In reality, every stamp is unique. Each stamp has its own journey and carries its own special message. When you carry a stamp in your hands, you connect with history and you contribute to the journey of that stamp.
When you think about it, we are all like stamps. We are unique and have a journey to travel through in life... but we don't always comprehend that we are valued and precious.
When I read the Gospel story and how Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”, I am reminded of the incredible price God paid so that I could understand my value to him.
If you’d like to know more about this, check out Luke 15:8-10 (in the Bible). A cool story how a coin is discovered and how much happiness there is when it gets found again.
No comments:
Post a Comment