| Kids, Wipes, Birthday Cake, and a Lesson in Service |
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| Sometimes encounters with God come in the most unlikely places! Last Wednesday night in our small group, I decided to prepare a lesson for the nine or ten children that come with their parents every week. In the past, following our meal together, the kids break off and watch a video while the adults work through our study. However, I felt impressed to do an "experiment" and see how the children would respond to a well-prepared lesson instead of a video. I enlisted Joey and Danny to be my assistants, and we prepared several hours before the people arrived. Now, let me be clear. I do NOT have the spiritual gift of service or helps. However, I DO know that God expects every follower to be willing to serve. Furthermore, working with children is not a passion area for me. So I was definitely stepping out of my comfort zone. We were finishing the lesson when the children got dessert. It was one of our member's birthday, and so we were celebrating with cake. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. The little ones were all into it! Frosting on their faces, cake webbed between their fingers, the kids were having a blast! The main idea of our lesson was the Jesus died for our sins, so I bent down, took a wipe, and began wiping one of the children's faces and fingers. I was explaining that Jesus cleans us up just like the wipe cleans our face and fingers. My attitude was not the best, though. However, it was in that moment that the voice of the Spirit spoke to my heart. It was if Jesus were saying to me, "Andy, I humbled myself to wash dirty, smelly feet. Who are you that you cannot humble yourself to clean up dirty, little faces and hands?" It was in that moment that a change took place in me. It was as if I were hearing the Lord say, "to the extent that you did it to one of... the least of these, you did it to Me." I began to wipe the fingers of that little child more gently and tenderly - as if wiping the hands of the Lord, Himself. It was truly a spiritual and holy moment in the midst of a birthday celebration. Just as He cleans us up from the mess of our sin and rejoices over us as pure, clean, and holy, I found joy in cleaning up this child and pointing him to the One who is able to clean us up spiritually. God showed me the joy in service and reminded me that "whoever receives a child like this in My name receives Me." (Mark 9:37) May you, too, discover the joy in your service (if you have not already) that it truly is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). |
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