A young girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. The total had to be exactly perfect.
No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she went out the back door and made her way six blocks to the local drug store/pharmacy.
She went to the pharmacy counter and waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention; he was busy at this moment talking with another man. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “I am visiting with my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said, without waiting for a reply to his question.
"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick...and I want to buy a miracle.”
"I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.
“My brother’s name is Andrew, and he has something bad growing inside his head; and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?”
"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry, but I can't help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little.
"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.”
The pharmacist's brother took an interest in what the little girl was saying. He stooped down and asked her, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”
"I don't know exactly," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. ”I just know he's really sick, and Mommy says he needs an operation. But, my Daddy can’t afford to pay for it, so I want to use my money.”
"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago.
"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly. "And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to."
"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents--the exact price of a “miracle’ for little brothers.”
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said, "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I can help with the ‘miracle’ he needs.”
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The pharmacist’s brother was a surgeon, specializing in neurosurgery. The operation was completed free of charge, and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
One day the little girl heard her Mom and Dad happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to a healing solution for their son. "That surgery," her Mom whispered, "was a real ‘miracle’… I wonder how much it would have cost?”
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost...one dollar and eleven cents...plus the faith of a little child!
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When was the last time you watched a little child listening and responding to the comments of a parent? The simplicity of a child's worldview is astounding. Sure they have their moments of rebellion and fussing, but don't we all? Their innocent faith, on the other hand, is something we adults seem to rarely exhibit in our own lives.
As we grow older, we tend to mistake knowledge for wisdom. The more we know (or think we know), the more we tend to be skeptical and doubting. We lose that innocent faith in others we once had way back in our own childhood. As people disappoint you and theories bombard you, the temptation is to stop placing confidence in what God can do.
Adam and Eve were tempted to drift away from that place of childlike faith in God. They were tempted, and a decision was made that caused the Fall. What about you? Do you often find yourself "happy in the Lord" because you know you can trust Him in all things? Or do you find yourself to be more of "grumpy goose" and a critic when it comes to the Lord and the Bible? If so, where did you lose your way?
You may say, "I have never found my way. That is, I have never trusted in God for anything, let alone salvation." That is fair enough, if that is your situation. It's honest. It's real. It's part of who you are today. But, it is not necessarily who you will be next month or next year. It all depends on your willingness, or refusal, to "become like a child" again.
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:2)
Just stop and consider what Jesus was saying there. How do little children tend to view what their parents tell them? Do they receive it with simple faith, or with skepticism? Unless they have become jaded due to unloving behavior directed at them, they almost always embrace what they are being told as the truth. After all, why should they doubt the words of those who love them?
You may feel like your reasons to reject the Bible are justified, but it only takes one reason to start believing it and allow it to transform your heart. The love of God changes everything. Once you accept the fact that God loves you, you are getting close to that place where you can begin to live with childlike faith, hope and trust. It truly is a wonderful way to live.
Since God tells us in His Word that He lovingly sent His only Son to die for our sins, there is no good reason to doubt it. You may have become convinced that you should doubt it, but consider who convinced you. It was doubters who did it. They are good at leading others into a place of doubt by their words or their behavior. While it is true that Christians also have doubts at times, it is also true that childlike faith is not consistent with doubt. Innocent children are living "above doubt" as they simply express childlike faith in what their parents tell them.
So, is God your heavenly Father, or are you still outside of His family? Until you enter that relationship with the Father through faith in Christ, your heart will likely remain hard toward God. The only message that can make your heart soft toward God is the Gospel message of salvation through Christ alone. And the only way to accept it is with childlike faith. In other words, before you even become one of God's children, it is necessary to place faith in Him. As you do, you enter into His family. Then He fills you daily with the faith which you will need to trust Him in all things, and not only for going to heaven one day.
This walk of faith is fluid. Some days are more childlike than others. As Christians, we still struggle with our human tendency to believe only what we see. That tendency is something everyone battles, whether you are in God's family or not. It is part of the human condition. It is what it is. And, God is who He is.
Aren't you glad that God's love and His character don't change just because your circumstances do?
— Unknown
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Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV
For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV
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If you liked this story and would like a copy of either of my books,
they are available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle format:
If you have a story or testimony that you think might bless others,
I invite you to send it by email to me (Kenneth Kersey) at godsotherways@me.com.
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