Key Bible Verse: We were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies (Romans 5:10). Bonus Reading: Romans 5:6-11

A bitter war had been waged all one summer, members of Alaska's Stickeen tribe told me, between them and the Sitkas. No women dared venture to the salmon streams or berry fields for winter food stocks. At this crisis a Stickeen chief walked to a clearing between the fortified camps and called for the Sitka chief. When that chief emerged, he said: "My people are hungry. If this war goes on, most will die. Let's make peace. Let your brave Sitka warriors go home to dry salmon and berries."

"That's easy for you to say," the Sitka chief replied. "You've killed ten more of my tribe than we've killed of yours. We'll make peace only when you give us ten Stickeen men to balance our blood account."

"You know my rank," replied the Stickeen chief. "I'm worth at least ten common men. Take me." The offer was promptly accepted. He stepped forward and was shot down, establishing peace.

When missionaries preached the atonement, the Indians said, "Your words are good. The Chief of chiefs, the Maker of all the world, must be worth more than all mankind put together; therefore, when His blood was shed, the salvation of the world was made sure."

—John Muir in Travels in Alaska

My Response: I'll thank God for the supreme worth of the sacrifice He provided.

Thought to Apply: I must die or get somebody to die for me. If the Bible doesn't teach that it doesn't teach anything.—DWIGHT L. MOODY (evangelist)

Adapted from Travels in Alaska (Houghton, Mifflin Co., 1915) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Lord, this week help me grasp the agonizing ordeal Your Son endured to pay my penalty.

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