A man saw a child
fall into a lake and jumped in and saved his life. Soon afterward a woman came
and asked if he was the man who pulled her son out of the lake. He modestly
said that he was. She responded, "Well, where is his cap?" – Winston
Churchill
Consider some
lessons we can learn.
Thankfulness
>>>>>>>>
This woman should
have been eternally grateful to the man who saved her son from drowning.
Instead she complained to him because her son’s cap was lost!
How different are
other people? People should be eternally grateful to God who gave His own Son
to die to save us from eternal torment. But instead some people complain
because not everything is to their liking.
Some quit the church
because they say members aren’t friendly enough. Some complain about their
health or finances. Some say they can’t believe in a God who allows suffering.
Luke 17:12-18 –
Jesus healed ten lepers. One of them, returned, and fell down at His feet,
giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. Jesus said, "Were there not ten
cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give
glory to God except this foreigner?"
Colossians
1:12-14 – Give thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of
darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we
have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
God offers us
salvation and the hope of eternal life. To achieve this, He sacrificed His own
Son. Do we appreciate the salvation God offers? Or do we focus instead on the
difficulties we face in serving Him? Do we focus on the boy or the cap?
Priorities
>>>>>>
In the story,
what should have been important to the mother: the fact her son’s life had been
saved or the fact his cap was lost in the process? It was a problem of
priorities.
How different are
other people? God offers us forgiveness and hope of eternal life, but instead
we focus on relatively unimportant things that we want.
Some miss church
meetings because it’s too hard to get up in the morning. Others miss for
entertainment or recreation. Others don’t study the Bible or teach their
children or even obey the gospel because they are so busy with affairs of the
world.
Matthew
6:19-21,33 – Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and
rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do
not break in and steal. ... But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
John 6:63 – It is
the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to
you are spirit, and they are life.
What is really
important to us? Are we like the mother who failed to appreciate the fact her
son was saved because she focused on the lost cap? Or do we realize that God
has given us the hope of eternal life in heaven with Him and the saved of all
ages because He sent his son to endure the crucifixion on the cross for us?
Do you allow
relatively unimportant things to hinder your service to God, or are you willing
to give your life in service to God?
(c) Copyright David E. Pratte, 2019
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