James 3:18
Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
We had record attendance at our Vacation Bible School, and it seemed that each night the number who showed up grew! So by Night #3, we were running low on supplies for the crafts. For the fourth and final night, we actually did run short! Anticipating this, our children’s director had left a bin of supplies in our classroom for an alternate rendition of our craft for the night. We were supposed to make a papier maché memory box that featured a decal of a world globe glued on the lid… and a card printed with the Bible verse from John 3:16 glued inside. During the opening service, my cousin Olivia and some of her friends had asked me what the craft was, and I told them, “We’re going to make a memory box!”… not thinking that we might run out of supplies.
Sure enough, by the time the third graders made it to our last crafting session, we had ten boxes… and about 19 children. So I eagerly displayed a little plaque made of craft foam, popsicle sticks, a glittery pipe cleaner, and a decal of the world and John 3:16 and said, “Tonight, we will make this plaque that you can hang on your doorknob or your wall and remember what you learned at VBS!” Olivia said, “But Aunt Debbie… you said we were going to make a memory box.” I apologized and said, “We ran out of boxes… our ‘marketplace’ is sold out!” “But you promised!” several little girls said in unison.
I asked how many children wanted to make the box. About 14 hands went up. I apologized again and said, “We only have ten boxes… that just will not work… and I want to be fair to everyone. So we will all have to do the same thing.” And then, one little boy said, “I’ll make the plaque… if that will help.” His friend sitting next to him said, “I will, too.” One by one, the little boys began to offer to make the alternate version of the craft project. In short order, all of the boys had decided that the girls could have the boxes… they would make the plaques. Here’s the kicker… we had ten girls!
Isn’t it amazing how God works out the details when we work together in peace and harmony? Don’t you find it incredibly wonderful that He orchestrates a healthy, robust community overflowing with mercy and blessings when we “do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor”? Do you see that a group of 9-year-old-almost-fourth-graders schooled us in how to get this done?!
I stood back and realized that this was the lesson of our Vacation Bible School. These children truly heard the message of the Apostle Paul as he shared the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ. They were busy putting into action the meaning of his words in Philippians 3:12-14… “I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.”
Where do you need to compromise and reach for Christ? Where have you been two-faced or behaved unreasonably? Have you treated others with dignity and honor…even when it took every fiber of your being to do so? Do you have your eye on the goal of finding peace by living for Jesus and making every effort to get along? Isn’t it time you humbled yourself like Paul… and these precious children… and made this the focus of your life? Will today be the day you begin?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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