This week Tabernacle had our summer Vacation Bible School (VBS). Thomas and I were only able to go 2 of the 5 nights but there were a number of children and adults there to learn, help, and serve. The word of God shared and the love of God was shown to children who may not have heard that message before and that's the most important part of VBS.
Since I knew I couldn't be there every night I didn't sign up to help and I was able to roam around and assist if needed which gave me an opportunity to observe the children without the responsibility of keeping a headcount or anything. Many of them appeared to be paying full attention during the entire lessons, while some you could tell their focus would fade in and out. Yet others seemed to have very little interest in what the teachers were sharing and were more concerned with looking at the other kids in the room or fidgeting with other gadgets.
The freedom to observe this gave me the thought of why do we study, work, and spend time doing something for others who don't know us, don't care about what we have to say, and may or may not even like us? Then during a song it hit me...God did exactly that for me. Romans 5:8 says, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God didn't send his son Jesus to save the good people, the rich people, the nice people, the church people, He sent Him to save the sinners - the folks who made mistakes, who messed up, who did bad things, who had no idea who God was.
So why do we invest in others? Why do we spend time, energy, and resources planning, studying, and sharing lessons with children or adults who don't know us and don't seem to care about what we have to say? Because I was once that child. I was that person who didn't know, didn't care, and didn't listen. I was that close to staying lost if one day at VBS I hadn't heard something that finally made it all come together for me and realize that I needed God to make me right. I couldn't do it, my parents couldn't do it, and my grandparents couldn't do it. It took Christ changing my heart.
We invest in others because we have been invested in by the greatest investor of all time whose returns are infinite. God invested in us through his son Jesus Christ. So keep sharing, keep telling Bible stories, keep loving on people even if they ignore you. One day, that seed you plant may be watered by someone else and start to grow.
Since I knew I couldn't be there every night I didn't sign up to help and I was able to roam around and assist if needed which gave me an opportunity to observe the children without the responsibility of keeping a headcount or anything. Many of them appeared to be paying full attention during the entire lessons, while some you could tell their focus would fade in and out. Yet others seemed to have very little interest in what the teachers were sharing and were more concerned with looking at the other kids in the room or fidgeting with other gadgets.
The freedom to observe this gave me the thought of why do we study, work, and spend time doing something for others who don't know us, don't care about what we have to say, and may or may not even like us? Then during a song it hit me...God did exactly that for me. Romans 5:8 says, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God didn't send his son Jesus to save the good people, the rich people, the nice people, the church people, He sent Him to save the sinners - the folks who made mistakes, who messed up, who did bad things, who had no idea who God was.
So why do we invest in others? Why do we spend time, energy, and resources planning, studying, and sharing lessons with children or adults who don't know us and don't seem to care about what we have to say? Because I was once that child. I was that person who didn't know, didn't care, and didn't listen. I was that close to staying lost if one day at VBS I hadn't heard something that finally made it all come together for me and realize that I needed God to make me right. I couldn't do it, my parents couldn't do it, and my grandparents couldn't do it. It took Christ changing my heart.
We invest in others because we have been invested in by the greatest investor of all time whose returns are infinite. God invested in us through his son Jesus Christ. So keep sharing, keep telling Bible stories, keep loving on people even if they ignore you. One day, that seed you plant may be watered by someone else and start to grow.
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