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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion Tuesday, January 6, 2004 Handfuls of Love |
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Frontline Devotion for Tuesday, January 6, 2004, by Penny Risen
Bible text:
Mark 12:30-31
"So far, so good!" I thought.
"No squirmers, fidgeters or crawlers, no calling out. This is a piece of cake."
A novice at giving the kids' message, I'd been prepared for the random, the
unpredictable from this bunch of boys and girls ranging from the diapered to the
preteen. The kids sat patiently with me on the altar steps
as I quizzed them Sunday morning about their Christmas celebrations. They liked
talking into the handheld microphone, hearing their voices echo across the rows
of worshipers.
Our brief dialogue centered on their Christmases --- traveling, welcoming
guests, giving and getting presents --- compared with how Jesus, His family,
shepherds and wise men all spent the first Christmas. The children eagerly
volunteered details on cousins and grandparents visiting, wonderful presents
(American Girl dolls! Gameboy! Superman jamas!), and how some in their families
were ill during Christmas and had needed extra care and hugs.
I realized that my diversion was working. As we talked, the kids kept focusing
on what I held in my lap: A large box wrapped brightly in paper with silver and
gold stars and topped with a gold bow. The contents shifted temptingly, sort of
rumbling softly, as I reached back and forth with the mike from child to child.
"WHAT is it?" pairs of eyes asked, darting from box to me and back to the box.
"For us? When is she going to show us, share?" Gears turned in their heads as
they studied the problem.
Now as background, kids at our church know from experience that many of the
sermons to them are delivered with a treat at the end: A sticker or mint or
other goody to drive home the point the pastor's made. But I could feel the
tension rise as I started to edge toward the lesson's close and the kids'
prayer. "Mrs. Risen doesn't get it!" said the kids' furtive and anxious looks.
"She's not going to share. She's just going to sit there and hold that box!"
"And the best Christmas gift of all," I talked on, "... is Jesus, and God's
great love for us that He sent His Son to save us from sin." Before panic
struck those small hearts, I lifted the lid off the box to reveal hundreds of
Hugs, those Hershey kisses layered in "hugs" of white and dark chocolate.
"But gifts aren't gifts unless they're shared, are they," I asked as the kids
peered in, nodding with their faces lighting up. "If we just let God's great
gift sit in our laps and don't share it, does anybody get the love it holds?"
We made a deal: They could have some Hugs, representing God's gift of love, if
they shared the treat with their families and others as they returned to their
seats. My modest plan (a few candies here and there and we're done) naturally
went out the window --- proving once again that ministering to kids always
brings me more spiritually than I ever brought to them.
Huge handfuls after fistfuls of love were shared from row to row, scooped out of
the shiny box as we watched joyful kids eagerly clutching Hugs and passing them
around church. One determined moppet in a pinafore was still dashing around,
sharing Hugs with the pastors as the Scriptures were read.
Think about Jesus' words in Mark 12, when asked which commandment is the first
and greatest of all. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your minds, and with all your strength," He
replied. "The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There
is no other commandment greater than these." This is the Good News the kids
shared with me on Sunday, without even saying a word.
Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, thank you for the awesome gift of Your Son. Help
me remember to share Your Love everyday, by joyful handfuls, and not just keep
it hidden in my heart. Amen.
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