Joshua had his first experience with losing a tooth this week.

He pulled it out himself. Then lost the tooth. Then we found it.

He was exceptionally excited… for a whistle.

"YAY! Now the tooth fairy will bring me a whistle!"

Yes… Wait. What? The tooth fairy probably cannot find a whistle at 10:00 at night kid. It is too late. The tooth fairy has a limited amount of resources. The tooth fairy probably wants to go to sleep. It was a long day for the tooth fairy. If you want a whistle, you might have to give the tooth fairy a minimum of three days. A whistle is impossible tonight.

So there I was in the store at around 11:00 hunting the perfect whistle with which to redeem a lost tooth.

I circled that store for about an hour and finally came across a camping whistle: It has a compass (totally unreliable compass) and a magnifying glass (.2X magnification maybe), and a thermometer (consistently at 80 degrees), and the decibel output = not loud).

YES! That is the one!
Joshua is totally stoked!
Best. Tooth Fairy. Ever.

I am not always a great dad, in fact I am not even in the top ten, but I will go to ANY extreme possible to try to take care of my family.

And that got me thinking about dedication.

Want to play a game with me? Fill in the blank with one of these phrases: any, almost any, some, no, occasional…

1. I will go to _______________ extreme to help my friend.
2. I will go to _______________ extreme to help a stranger.
3. I will go to _______________ extreme to help my enemy.

Do you get a glimpse of how much I love you by how I answer that question about you?

Do you see the importance of personal sacrifice in love?

Do you recognize the connection between acts and heart?

Let's look at Jesus:

"But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." – Isaiah 53:5-6

These words, written about Christ long before He hung on the cross, remind us of God's answer to my fill in the blank questions.

How far would God go? All the way to the cross. Even when it is late and all you ask for is the impossible…

Maybe today you would ask Him to redeem that which is lost. Jesus redeemed me when I was lost. He will do it for you too.

"Jesus, I want salvation for my family. Please do not rest or slumber until You have redeemed. Amen."