Red Bird Devotions #27

Life Saver

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19-20

When I was just a wee little girl with no bangs (because my friend, Robin and I decided to cut them off with safety scissors during Kindergarten class), sometimes my mom would buy me Life Savers.  And I got to eat the whole roll myself.  And I loved this.  But what I really loved the most was that I was able to open them myself.  My mother had shown me how to pull the little blue paper string at the top of the roll and pull off the little silver top.  The fact that I knew how to do this formerly mysterious task thrilled my bang-less self and made me feel very grown up. Sometimes, my mom would even ask me to open her pack of gum using the same method, and when I did this, I felt so very helpful.

You know what?  God doesn’t need us.  He is fully capable of achieving His purposes and showing His glory without our help.  But, He loves us, and sometimes, because He is our Father, He lets us help with some of His tasks.  Sometimes, these tasks are small, like writing a note of encouragement, and sometimes, they are huge, like telling the nations about Jesus, but either way, we can feel good about being included in His plan.

He allows us to help Him “pull the string” because He wants us to know that we are part of the Kingdom, and He knows that we care much more about things in which we are invested.  By walking with God and watching for where He is working, we can get involved in His work and grow up in His grace.

‘Cause He is the real Life Saver, you know.

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3:4