There’s a story written by Ruth Paul, a kiwi author, about a king who loved bubbles. He loved them so much, he wanted to keep them all to himself. He spent so much time trying to figure out how to do that. He even had a big treasure room built to keep the bubbles in, all to himself. I’m sure you can imagine how that turned out! The rather silly and quite selfish king eventually finds out that letting the bubbles blow free and sharing with others was a far better idea.
There’s another story about a princess, who is not interested in the usual princess stuff. She changes her name to Princess Pulverizer, and tells her father, the king, she intends to become a knight and ride off on exciting adventures. The king tells her that there’s a lot more to being a knight. It takes great honour, kindness and sacrifice.
In the bible, we’re told that there’s a lot more to being the people of God too… it takes things like doing good, seeking justice, standing up for others.
And earthly treasures - things, stuff - don't matter. It’s God’s treasures that are worth clinging onto.
We are so deeply loved. God values us and gives us joy. God’s love is always with us. God wants us to celebrate that gift. Wherever we are, through happy times and sad times… whatever comes, God is right here with us. So don’t get distracted, or waste time worrying about the wrong things.
God wants us to live amazing lives. To share, to love our enemies, to serve others and to live in peace. So let’s wake up to the job we’ve been given - watching for God’s presence. Look for joy breaking around us. Celebrate the love of God.
Listen to Melanie read the story, All of Us, by Carin Berger. It's a great one for Peace Sunday!
No comments:
Post a Comment