Last night after worship a little girl approached me with one of my Latin American Missions catalogs in her hand. She told me that one day she wanted to be a missionary too. I told her that was fantastic and that we needed more missionaries. I told her when she got to be a teenager (she was probably between 8 and 10) she could go with us on our Y.E.S. II Campaign (a missionary VBS week conducted entirely by teens). She was excited for a moment, but then a very concerned expression began to pass across her face. She leaned in a bit closer and said, “There’s just one problem. A lot of people laugh at me because of it and I’m really too old for it.” At this point I have no idea what she is talking about, so I cautiously ask her, “What is your problem?” Her reply melted, and relieved, my heart at the same time. She said, “I still suck my thumb.” It was obvious to me that this was a real source of embarrassment, shame and fear for this little girl. At this point in my Sunday I had already taught a Bible class and preached two sermons, but the best opportunity I was going to have to do something really important and helpful was standing right before me. I’ve thought of dozens of things I could/should have said to her, but trying to think fast on my feet, the best I could come up with was, “That’s fantastic. We don’t have any missionaries who suck their thumbs so we could use you. I bet their are little kids in other countries that suck their thumbs too and you could really help them. And whenever somebody laughs at you or picks on you, you just remember that God loves you even if you suck your thumb, and that’s all that matters.” Her face lit up and as quickly as she approached me, she was off again. I’ve thought about that conversation several times since last night, and it caused me to learn some lessons of my own. Namely, that God loves everybody, flaws, habits, weaknesses and all. He loves the people who make fun of me, and the people whom I’ve been guilty of making fun of, and He loves me too. The pain that this little girl was feeling, is the same pain that God was feeling when others made her feel this way. Remember, good or bad, Jesus says, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). And it should be the same for us, one to another, “whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26). Remember this before criticizing or mocking others.
We all have weaknesses, faults and flaws that we struggle with, and that others could easily criticize or make fun of us for. Even Paul. He wrote, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Remember this when you are mocked or criticized by others.
I’m glad I met this little girl, and I hope I helped her to not let the “haters” get her down, because I know she helped me. She helped me to remember, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, THEY ARE WEAK BUT HE IS STRONG!” Jesus loves me, and He loves thumbsuckers too.
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