David Anguish wrote about how Vacation Bible School made
a huge impact on one little boy:
“A little boy who attended our Vacation Bible School
discovered something which startled him. He was a visitor, feeling
alone in a crowd of excited and noisy children, most of whom know each
other and what’s expected in a Bible school assembly. A little girl —
we’re talking pre-schoolers here — sat with him, welcomed him, and
treated him like a friend. His teachers made sure he didn’t get lost in
the crowd as they taught the story of Jesus and what it means to be a
real success.
And he went home and excitedly reported, ‘Mom! They said
I was special!!!’”
*
Anguish also offers some keen insights:
“A pre-schooler doesn’t begin to understand concepts like
sin and salvation. To him, baptism’s just someone getting dunked in a
smaller pool than they have at the park. The theology of atonement, be
it the satisfaction theory or Christ victorious, is lost on him.
Whether he’s justified or sanctified is less important to him than
whether he can manipulate his blocks, make the right noise for his
trucks, or find something useful for his imaginary friend to do.
But he knows love when he sees it. He knows when someone
treats him well — or badly. He can see whether this person cares about
him, or whether that person sees him only as a nuisance or a ‘bad’
child.
There are a lot of people like that pre-schooler in our
world. To be sure, the trucks they play with are bigger than his, and
the blocks they build are taller and intended to somehow provide a more
lasting memory. And the places their imaginations take them involve
real people, but, as often as not, the expectations prove just as hard
to grasp as that pre-schooler’s imaginary friend is to hug.
But they know love when they see it. They know when
someone treats them well — or badly. They can tell whether this person
— or group — cares about them, or whether they are just nuisances who
have ruined their lives with bad behavior and thus deserve whatever they
get.”
*
May we never forget that every person in the world is
special. This is true because every person is created in the image of
God (Genesis 1:26-27). It is true because even though every person in
the world has sinned (Romans 3:23), God loves every person (John 3:16).
It’s true because Jesus gave His life for every single person in the
world (1 John 2:2).
God “desires
all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For
there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ
Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time”
(1 Timothy 2:4-6).
God will save those who place their
faith
and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in
repentance
(Acts 17:30-31),
confess
Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are
baptized
(immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will
continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of
His Word (1 John 1:7-9).
What makes YOU special? God created you. He
loves you. He wants to save you from your sin and He has made provision
for your salvation through the death, burial, and resurrection of His
Son, Jesus. He wants to add you to His Family, the church (Acts
2:41,47). And one day, He wants to take you to live with Him for
eternity in a heavenly home (John 14:1-3).
Won’t YOU accept His offer of salvation and
eternal life?
-- David A. Sargent
* From
“They Said I Was Special!!!” by David Anguish, written for “The
Reflector,” a publication of the Church of Christ at Snellville, GA.
August 26, 1998. www.davidanguish.com
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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