from South Church
Volume X X X X X V I Number 06
yV' I June 2014
There was once a httle boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed
his suitcase with Twinkles and a six-pack of root beer, and he started his journey. There was a park about three
blocks from his house, and as he approached it, he saw an old woman sitting on one of the park benches just staring at some pigeons. So the boy sat down next to her, and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from
his root beer when he noticed that the old woman looked hungry, so he offered her a Twinkle. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root
beer. Once again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but
they never said a word.
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As evening approached, the boy realized that he needed to get home, so he got up to leave. But before he got
more than a few steps away, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her
" biggest smile ever. When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised
1, by the look on his face. So she asked, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, " I had lunch
with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile
I've ever seen!" Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by
the look of peace on her face, so he asked, "Mom, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied,
" I ate Twinkles in the park with God." But before her son could respond, she added, "You know, he's much
younger than I expected."
We have been moving through the season of Easter, that post-resurrection time period when the resurrected Christ
has appeared to his followers in a number of unexpected and unrecognizable ways - outside an empty tomb, in a
room with a locked door, on the road to Emmaus, to name a few. The Easter scripture passages, primarily from
the Gospel of John and the Acts of the Apostles tell us of another who will be with us forever, the Holy Spirit who
will empower us to carry on the work that Jesus started, to be witnesses to Christ's message of love and service to
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the world, in Christ's name. The message of Easter is that Christ lives on, through you and me, and through all
who believe, or have believed, down through the centuries. You see, Jesus didn't come to change the world for
that one brief time period over two millennia ago; on the contrary his life changing message and presence are
timeless gifts through the Holy Spirit.
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I leave you with the f3llowing words from an anonymous author; "Live in such a way that those who know you
but don't know God will come to know God because they know you." Jesus said, " I will not leave you orphaned;
} f I am coming to you," and so he has. As you continue on your journey, expect to encounter God, at any time, in
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any place. Something as simple as sharing a smile, or a Twinkle and root beer, can make a huge difference in another person's life.
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Faithfully,
We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Philippians 4:13
PastorAl