Heaven Bound

 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”. James 1:27

Losing our first tooth. It’s kind of a big deal and one many of us remember no matter how many years have past. So, this past weekend when my youngest grandaughter lost her first tooth it became a spiritual lesson that I will never forget.

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A couple of weeks ago we traveled with our oldest daughter and family to to visit the small town I grew up in. Every year in July they have a celebration that includes a parade and fireworks which is always fun especially for the children who have a ball dodging water cannons and chasing after all the candy being thrown at the parade.

 The next morning we prepared to visit the church I grew up in and while preparing for church my five year old grandaughter came rushing up to show me that she had lost her first tooth. I oohed and awed as a grandma would and took a photo of her wide toothless grin.

Not long after that while waiting for the adults to finish getting ready she found a dime in the parking lot of the motel we were staying at. To a five year old who has little concept of money it was a great find. And she was excited to show everyone the dime she had found. Not many minutes later after walking around with the dime tight in her fist she approached my 87 year old mother (her great grandmother) and said:

“I heard you only have ten dollars so I want to give you my dime.”

So earnest and sweet she was that my mother graciously accepted stating that she would “keep it and treasure it forever”. And she will  as I know this form of true and pure love from a child really touched her heart.

Apparently, my mother (who is a widow) had told her earlier that she should put the tooth under her pillow so the tooth fairy would bring her some money. She then went on to say jokingly “I wish the tooth fairy would bring me some money because I don’t have any”. So, God bless her  …. my grandaughter taking her words to heart approached her later to offer up her dime. Where she got the idea my mother only had ten dollars I don’t know … but, in her mind whatever she had – it wasn’t much and she was glad to offer up her dime as a supplement to the ten dollars that she had.

When we arrived at Church I was astounded to learn that the scripture for the morning was James 1:27 ….  amazing! Hadn’t we just witnessed the very embodiment of this verse in the form of my grandaughters generous heart just moments earlier. There could be no mistake – God was speaking through her action.

Like the widow of Luke 21:3 who Jesus commended she had given all that she had.

When we look at this verse out of James we understand of course that we are not saved by works. But if our works do not express our faith in the form of things near and dear to the heart of God we might seriously need to examine ourselves.

As David Guzik writes on his on-line verse by verse commentary (regarding James 1:27) –

“A real walk with God shows itself in simple, practical ways. It helps the needy and keeps itself unstained by the world’s corruption”

…. he then goes on to quote Spurgeon (the Prince of Preachers) who said:

“Charity and purity are the two great garments of Christianity.”

With this in mind, we might well ask the Lord where we are regarding these virtues. Have we become calloused or neglectful of these things? It’s easy to do and I know I have been at times. And with that being said I am so thankful for the Lords gentle reminder that he is most pleased when when we act in the simple faith of a child. A lesson I will not long forget.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem they shall prosper who love thee” Psalm 122:6

Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus! Cindy