Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
Having been requested to sing Christmas Carols at a local retirement center, we canceled regular Church Bible Study and spread the news. Interestingly, the most interest came from families with little children! And It proved to be a telling event!
When we arrived, the children were greeted by something rarely seen in Florida… 2 flights of stairs! In the spirit of kidship, they took to them like a jungle gym! As the ‘retired ol folks’ began to assemble on the 2nd floor, kids were laughing, running and jumping the stairs with glee! All I could do was smile! There was no way “I” was going to interrupt their fun!
A lady in charge of the facility walked up and asked about our most ‘gleeful’ boy, “who’s child is THIS?” I got nervous, until PRAISE began to come from her lips. Apparently Mikey had been running upstairs greeting and ‘high-fiving’ the residents. AND THEY LOVED IT! When it came time to sing, the kids who couldn’t read were lost. But when ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Frosty’ came up… they were all smiles and joyful performers.
When it was over and families left to go home, I was drawn to a group of folks hanging around in the afterglow. When I asked about their gratefulness of going to heaven because of God’s Gift of Jesus, one curmudgeonly lady informed me she was, in fact, ‘going to hell!’ Because of some poor decisions, she had been told so by her church years earlier.. and she believed it!
She had been attracted by a disturbance in the ‘normal’ around her. The quiet and settled indifference had been interrupted by children, laughter and Christmas music. As I probed the crack in her heart, fellow ‘in-mates’ drew close. Together, we shared the Gospel, offered God’s free gift…and she ‘joyfully’… accepted it!
There is NO joy greater then seeing God WORK. To see the impossible made possible before your very eyes is a gift! That first Christmas, God used a child, a few people, and joyful praise to crack the darkened heart of the world. He did it again, using the same formula, just last night! Thanks kids!
