At the End of the Day. James W. Moore
gathered them at the door and said, "Now listen, when I ring the bell, I want you all to go outside and scatter and find one of God's miracles. And then when I ring it again, come back and show us what you have and tell what it teaches us about God." Dr. Craddock rang the bell, and they scattered. He said that his plan was "not to ring it again."
But he did. After a while, he rang the bell, and they came back with God's miracles. "Well, what do you have?" Dr. Craddock asked. One young boy had a rock. He said, "This rock reminds us that God is stout and God made the world." One girl had a flower. She said, "Only God could make a flower like this. It's so pretty!" Another girl had a leaf that had fallen off the tree and had turned brown. She said, "God made the seasons of the year, summer, fall, winter, spring." Another boy stepped forward with some huckleberries. He said, "God provides for us. He feeds the animals, and he feeds us."
"Well, that's great," said Dr. Craddock, and then he looked over and saw that especially disruptive boy, standing off to one side, with nothing in his hands. Instead, he was standing there holding the hand of his little sister, who had been down in the kindergarten class. Dr. Craddock was exasperated, and he thought, What is he doing? Why won't he cooperate? I guess they have to leave early. Why didn't somebody tell me?
Then this conversation took place.
"Leaving early?"
"No, sir."
"Well, did you bring anything?"
"Yes, sir."
"What did you bring?"
"My little sister!"
"Your little sister?"
"Yes, sir."
"Why did you do that?"
"'Cause she's God's miracle. I prayed for a little sister, and God gave me one. She's the best miracle I know of!"
Dr. Craddock stood there stunned because he knew the little boy was right! And he knew that God was there in that room, in that moment, closer than breathing. Craddock said, "I don't know whatever happened to that boy, but I hope he's still doing that. He was the only one in the class (including the teacher) who got the point." The Holy Spirit touched that little boy's heart when nobody was looking and gave him the truth—the truth that God's greatest miracles are people! "You want to see one of God's miracles? I'll go get my sister!"
This is one of the greatest truths of the Bible. We—you and I—are made in the image of God. Talk about a miracle! God made the squirrels, the elephants, the giraffes, and the duck-billed platypus. God made the trees, the flowers, and the skies. God made all of it and said, "That's good! Now, that's good!" And to cap it all off, God said, "Now, for the masterpiece: I am going to create something like myself!" And God made you! And it is a sin for us to say, "Well, I'm only human." If you want to see one of God's miracles, don't gather the pine cones, don't capture the squirrel, don't find a picture of a trout stream; just look at the person next to you. There is God's miracle! There is the crown of God's creation!
Sometimes when we least expect it, the Holy Spirit reveals the truth. That's what happened in that Vacation Bible School classroom that morning. There's another lesson here: Don't ever write anybody off. And whatever you do, don't write off the Holy Spirit. That's what Pentecost teaches us. The Holy Spirit redeems situations. The Holy Spirit reminds us of the truth.
Third and Finally, the Holy Spirit Restores Our Strength
Peter was down, defeated, and embarrassed. He had failed. He had denied his Master at the critical moment. He had seen the Crucifixion and was devastated. He had met the resurrected Christ, but still he felt like a failure. He felt inadequate for the task. But then came the Holy Spirit, and Peter's strength was replenished. Empowered by the Spirit, Peter became a man of courage and a tower of strength! The Holy Spirit restores our strength.
Some members of our church are going through a valley right now. It's one of the toughest situations you can imagine. A few days ago, I went to minister to them, and they ministered to me. They said, "Don't worry about us. We are going to make it. We are taking this one day at a time, and God is with us as never before. He is giving us strength. He will see us through!"
"God is with us as never before. He will see us through"; that is the good news of our faith, isn't it? God never deserts us. He redeems situations for us. He reminds us of the truth. And he restores our strength.
Have you heard the story about a young man who approached the father of his girlfriend to ask his permission to marry her? The father was skeptical. He said, "You don't know what you are asking. She has very extravagant tastes. I doubt very much that you will ever be able to support my daughter. I'm a wealthy man, and I can barely manage it myself." The young man thought for a moment, and then he said, "Sir, I believe I have it: You and I could pool our resources!"
That's the message of the Christian faith, isn't it? We are not alone. God is with us, we can pool our resources with him, and his strength will see us through. God's strength will carry us. God's strength will save us.
So, the question is, How is it with you? Have you made that discovery? Will you be remembered at the end of the day as one who knew the gift of the Holy Spirit?
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