Thursday, August 12, 2010

God's other plans for tonight -- faith like a child

I already was getting ready for bed, but I had to come back and share the coolest thing that happened tonight. We went to church to give an English class afterwards to vacuum and clean, but God had other plans. We are temporarily meeting at a hotel, and a woman staying there brought by 6 children who are also staying there. My first thought was to put on a Christian kids movie for them, and I tried 2x on 2 different computers, but for some odd reason, neither one felt like playing DVDs tonight. (Again, God had other plans). So I pulled out our favorite children's Bible (The Jesus Storybook Bible) and read the first section "The Story and the Song" that basically gives an introduction to what the Bible is, Who wrote it, and why. From there, the kids had so many questions and I had the privilege of sharing the gospel with them. It was awesome to witness their level of understanding of concepts adults get fuzzy on -- concepts like we are all sinners, in need of a Saviour; and the concept of justice -- why a good God would punish sin. They had no problem grasping the idea that there is such a thing called Truth, whether people choose to believe it or not. It was obvious to them that God created men and women differently, with different roles but of equal precious value in His sight. And it was the most beautiful thing to see the wide-eyed wonder when they processed how BIG God really is--that He created everything out of nothing, that He created us to love us and for us to love Him, but gave us the option not to, that He came down as a little baby and lived a life here on earth so that we could understand, and that even though they killed Him by nailing Him to a cross, not even death could keep Him down. They asked the same questions that I've heard batted back and forth between skeptics and apologists. And when they understood, their enthusiasm, their wonder at the message of the gospel, could not be contained. They couldn't wait to get a real Bible so they could find out more. No wonder Jesus told us that "anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Mark 10:15. I am so thankful I got to be there to witness it. And God took care of every detail. Eg., There is a box of Bibles that we bought to give away, but the box went missing when we moved to the hotel a while ago. They just "turned up" tonight and so we had plenty to go around. He is so good!!!!!!! It is breathtaking just to imagine how he orchestrates all of creation and still cares about the number of hairs on our head and things like a missing box of Bibles. I hope everyone who reads this knows Him, and if you don't you have got to check Him out. Seek Him, He's been seeking you since before you were born. And He cares enough that He wrote all that we need to know down in the #1 Bestseller of all time, just so that we could begin to understand. Our whole purpose on the planet, like the rest of creation, is to bring Him glory. And when you do, there is a euphoria that's better than any artificial high this world can offer. When you look deep inside, you know that you were meant for more. You are wired for a relationship that you simply won't find with any other human being. Your soulmate is the eternal God who created you, and He never fails.