My 4 year old came up to me this morning wanting to read his Beginner Bible. I said yes because I never want to miss an opportunity to guide him to Jesus’ feet. The story he wanted me to read to him was about the poor woman who gave two small coins, all she had, to the temple versus the rich people who gave just a little of their money to the temple, something they wouldn’t even miss. I asked my son if he knew what poor and rich meant. He said he did not* so I explained having a lot of money versus having not very much money. Then I asked him to imagine if he had 50 stuffed animals and gave only one to God and his brother had only one stuffed animal and he gave that to God. Which gift would Jesus like more? I guided him to the right answer, the answer that would cost more, the answer that would be more of a sacrifice. I reminded him that he can give money to God by giving it to our church and it will be used for good things. We continued reading random Bible stories. One showed a picture of a treasure chest. At this point his older brother had joined us and I asked both boys how much they would give to God. They said about half. In practice I’ve seen them wanting more for themselves. My youngest wants more packages and more gifts and more popsicles. More, more, more. The money and things we get are gifts from God, they are His first. I told them we can pray for wisdom in how much to give away and how to use His money. I think it was a good mini teachable moment for him that will be one tiny drop in the bucket of lessons he’ll get in his life.
God used the story as a teachable moment for me as well, in that it got me thinking about if I am imitating the rich people or the poor woman in the story. The thing that popped into my head was TIME. Am I joyfully sacrificing my time for God or just begrudgingly giving the minimum? Does it hurt? Do I say no to other things to say yes to more time with God? Is my life a juicy grape, fully connected to the vine or is my life shriveling, barely hanging on to that life-giving vine? Time is the key.
Many days I am thriving on that vine. But it depends on the season of life, on the
circumstances of the day, on the condition of my heart. So I still have a lot of work to do, as does everyone. My prayer for my kids and for me would be…..Jesus, thank you so much for coming down to show us the way, for giving us something good to imitate. Holy Spirit, thank you so much for helping us through each day, God thank you so much for giving us grace when we don’t get it right and for loving us along the way. Please help us to give more and more of our time and resources to You, as they are gifts from You in the first place. Help us see the value of sacrificing and to grow in Your ways. May others see the joy that comes from sacrificing our time and resources for You and desire to imitate You. Amen.
*How many times do my kids hear words that they don’t know the meaning of and life just continues on? How much are they missing?