Great Love – Laying Down Your Candy For Another

TITLE: Great Love – Laying Down Your Candy For Another.
DATE: November 19, 2019
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Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed.

TEXT: John 15: 13-14 – ESV - This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

The story is an old one and it comes out of India.

It begins with a Prince who was coming to visit one of his poor villages for the first time. Nobody was more pleased with that news than the town beggar who was the poorest of the poor.

When the Pence arrived the beggar extended his bowl. This, the Prince ignored.

 Instead the Monarch asked the beggar if he had any rice. The beggar did. His rice is what he called “lunch.” The beggar was a poor man but not so poor that he couldn’t be  insulted. He was shocked.

Rather than helping him the Prince was trying to take from him.

That’s why, rather than turning over his whole bowl of rice, the beggar just gave the Prince 3 grains of rice. Immediately the Prince called for a bag of gold and placed three grains of gold into the beggar’s hand. The Prince left, never to return.
And the beggar spent the rest of his life wondering what might have happened if he had given the Prince all the rice from his cup.

Some people do end up living their lives with regrets

I’m pleased to report that an 8-year-old-boy from Maryland, Jackson Champagne is his name, shouldn’t be one of them.
 If you’ve heard Jackson’s story it is only because of the wonders of modern technology... specifically a video doorbell which records everything which happens near the front door of Leslie Hodges. Set up to catch evil-doers, this  time she captured the video of a pretty cool kid.    Let me explain....

Leslie had put out candy for the trick-or-treaters in a big bowl.

Unfortunately (but quite predictably,) some of her visitors emptied the bowl. That was the condition of things when Jackson got there. When he saw the famine conditions on the front porch he was disappointed Big time. He jumped around and shook his fist.... and it looked like he was going to leave.

But he came back.

He came back because he had thought about how the other kids, the smaller and younger kids would feel about going away empty handed. Yes, Jackson considered their disappointment and sadness and he did something unique:
He took some of his candy and put into the big bowl on the porch.

We would know none of this except for the fact that Leslie’s doorbell camera caught the whole thing. In a few days more than 9-million people had watched a beautiful act of kindness.  

You know, our Savior said, “The greatest love a human can show is to give up his life for another.

Certainly the Lord knows.  After all, He sacrificed his entire, perfect life to buy back our sinful souls and return them to His Father. Jesus made the sacrifice because of Who He is; not because of who we are. No, Jesus has shown this world what true love is... and, although Scripture doesn’t say it or imply it, I’m inclined to think, when you are 8, the second greatest love is giving away your Halloween candy for another.

THE PRAYER: Lord, we humans sometimes make sacrifices for each other...but nothing we do can compare with the loving life of our Savior. May I  remain grateful. This I ask in the Savior’s Name.  Amen.

The devotion for today was inspired by various recent news articles. For further reading you may wish to go to this address: https://www.romper.com/p/boy-put-his-halloween-candy-in-strangers-empty-bowl-yes-im-weeping-19290567  and the article written by  Casey Suglia .

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann. He along with three of his brothers perform on the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html