The wonder of it all...
December 19, 2008 - do you remember that old hymn that has those words?
"O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me." That song kept rolling through my mind today as I watched two little boys, maybe 4 years old sitting side by side in Dairy Queen waiting with great expectation for their kids pack.
The moms went to pick up the meals and laid out the meal neatly in front of the two boys. The one boy began eating quite quickly, but the other hovered over his food folding and unfolding his hands. Finally he got the OK from his mom that she was ready to pray with him and in a loud exuberant evangelistic voice he stated "Thank you Jesus for this food!!" Then clapping his hands with great gusto he bounded up to his knees, leaned across the table and looked at his mom with beautiful brown eyes and a smile that sparkled in complete contentment and announced to her and all of Dairy Queen "Jesus loves me!!"
Is that how we look when we tell others about our love for Jesus and his love for us? I'm not so sure, actually I do know the answer to that, I'm just trying to be polite. When was the last time we looked at one another with that same sense of wonder for the gift that God sent at Christmas because of his great love for us! We belly ache and complain about money, government, our weight, family, our spouses, our health, even God, but when was the last time we stopped and had a conversation with each other about God's love for us.
Wes and I continued on with our Christmas shopping after our lunch break and landed up speaking with a gentleman who talked so freely and with great affection about his relationship with Jesus Christ. He said that someone asked him if he was ready for Easter (wrong season I know, but bear with me) and he told them that he had been ready for 43 years. He had accepted Christ at the age of 14 and from that moment on he had been ready for Easter. I watched his face as he told this story, his eyes sparkled like the little four year old boy, his hands were in constant motion as he spoke as if he could hardly contain the excitement this relationship brought. And I walked away blessed by a four year old and and fifty something year old. Blessed and encouraged to begin sharing the fact that "Jesus loves me!" in a more tangible and childlike way!
Now when people ask me "So, are you ready for Christmas?"
I will respond with "I've been ready for 24 years!"
How about you?
"As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder" Mark 9:15
"O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me." That song kept rolling through my mind today as I watched two little boys, maybe 4 years old sitting side by side in Dairy Queen waiting with great expectation for their kids pack.
The moms went to pick up the meals and laid out the meal neatly in front of the two boys. The one boy began eating quite quickly, but the other hovered over his food folding and unfolding his hands. Finally he got the OK from his mom that she was ready to pray with him and in a loud exuberant evangelistic voice he stated "Thank you Jesus for this food!!" Then clapping his hands with great gusto he bounded up to his knees, leaned across the table and looked at his mom with beautiful brown eyes and a smile that sparkled in complete contentment and announced to her and all of Dairy Queen "Jesus loves me!!"
Is that how we look when we tell others about our love for Jesus and his love for us? I'm not so sure, actually I do know the answer to that, I'm just trying to be polite. When was the last time we looked at one another with that same sense of wonder for the gift that God sent at Christmas because of his great love for us! We belly ache and complain about money, government, our weight, family, our spouses, our health, even God, but when was the last time we stopped and had a conversation with each other about God's love for us.
Wes and I continued on with our Christmas shopping after our lunch break and landed up speaking with a gentleman who talked so freely and with great affection about his relationship with Jesus Christ. He said that someone asked him if he was ready for Easter (wrong season I know, but bear with me) and he told them that he had been ready for 43 years. He had accepted Christ at the age of 14 and from that moment on he had been ready for Easter. I watched his face as he told this story, his eyes sparkled like the little four year old boy, his hands were in constant motion as he spoke as if he could hardly contain the excitement this relationship brought. And I walked away blessed by a four year old and and fifty something year old. Blessed and encouraged to begin sharing the fact that "Jesus loves me!" in a more tangible and childlike way!
Now when people ask me "So, are you ready for Christmas?"
I will respond with "I've been ready for 24 years!"
How about you?
"As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder" Mark 9:15
Comments
Heaven must be celebrating with even so much more joy than we can imagine on Jesus' 'birthday'. : )
Marilyn