One year, when I was teaching a class of ten-year-olds, we were given a
challenge. Each class were given a Christmas song, and students had to
make it special for the Christmas concert. The class with the best
performance would win first place, which consisted of a free pizza
party.
My kids were excited, and they immediately worked on it
with fervent zeal. They practiced and practiced. All I had to do was to
encourage them and give them tips on how to improve. They were so eager!
During dress rehearsal, they did so well that the principal told me
I should go on Broadway. Maybe she wanted to get rid of me? "Truly", I
told her, "My students did all the planning."
It was no wonder
that they won the first Christmas concert, hands down. They were so
superb!
The second Christmas concert, though, even though they
had performed better than ever before (One of my guys finally smiled
during the concert!), another class beat them. Knowing kids, I expected
the next day to be filled with sadness and words like: "It is so
unfair." I was surprised when I met them that morning, for almost all of
them expressed: "It makes sense another class won. They needed
encouragement as well!"
Wow! That sure made me think that way too
often in my past, I have wallowed in self-pity. And for what? I don't
even remember now!
That day in class, hope rose in my heart. When
kids care for each other, we can truly expect a better future!
The shepherds in our story also came back filled with hope, so much so
that they couldn't help but praise the Lord. They, too, had encountered
a child, no ordinary child, a special child that would bring us a bright
future, thanks to that fact that Jesus would willingly die on a cross
for us so that we could be reunited with God. He rose on the third day,
assuring us that our future was guaranteed if we accepted His gift.
Kids can bring us hope, but the One born in Bethlehem outshone all
of them. The Savior came to our neighborhood to bring us hope.
Rob Chaffart
When Kids Outshine Adults. Hope in the Horizon, part 5
Today's Bible Verse:
"The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the
things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."
(Luke 2:20)
When Kids Outshine Adults. Hope in the Horizon, part 5
Announcement:
Christmas is all about hope. To whom could you bring this hope that you know personally?
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