Whatever Forever

On March 19^th our church family had our Easter Eggstravaganza. We went to our four satellite churches and the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home and had a giant celebration with them. These are considered underprivileged families and children, so we enjoy sharing with them food, fun and fellowship.

We have done this for two years and are already planning for next year. This verse is what helped me get out of bed on a very chilly 34 degree morning during what was still considered winter to go play outside for five hours. It warmed into the forties by the time we closed shop, but the wind was still nippy. However, I was privileged to teach the Bible lesson to the little children up through second grade, so needless to say, I was ecstatic.

I love doing these kinds of events. I enjoy playing and speaking with the children mostly, as that is where God has called and placed me, but this year something happened. I was in the middle of reading a fictitious book called Quaker Summer. I had only read a couple of chapters by the time “EGG” came around, so had yet to see what God was in the process of teaching me in those moments. After all was said and done, I delved into the book to finish before I had to return it to the library.

The story is about a middle aged woman who is in a spiritual crisis and doesn’t understand what it is God is trying to tell her. She comes upon a mission for the homeless and/or drug addicts, etc. quite by accident and fears for her and her husband’s lives, yet somehow feels drawn to return. A nun is running the mission and she is quite the personality, to say the least, but you can’t help but fall in love with the woman’s character. Our heroine returns one day and has a talk with the sister running it and is told (to make a fairly long story short) that she needs to look at people as being Jesus. (Matthew 25:40)

My spiritual eyes did a double take at this point. My thoughts: Okay God, You are getting ready to lay something on my heart. I need to be prepared. What is it?

After a couple more chapters I knew where I had gone wrong in the past. I tend to only see the positive side of things, so it was quite an eye opener for me. When I do good things for people, like “EGG,” I am doing them to Jesus, BUT (and this to me was a REALLY huge but) when I do something like gossip about someone, say something in anger to someone, call someone stupid or lazy, and all the other negative things a person might do to others, I am doing them to Jesus as well. This is something I knew, but hadn’t taken to heart. Now I have and pray it pops into my head every time I start to become angry out of having my feelings hurt.

Whatever is a very strong word, much like forever. Our actions and words have eternal effects either for the positive or the negative. Lord, make mine for the positive!!