Grandfather, are you God?

Thursday Pastor Mubangu preached on Jesus' parable about the Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46). You know the one about the sheep on the right and the goats on the left. Accompanying and helping people in need is at the heart of the parable. Jesus equates serving Him, welcoming Him, with the simple acts of quenching thirst, staunching hunger, clothing exposure and visiting isolation and fear.

Pastor Mubangu told a short story worth passing on. There was a little girl, legs stunted from birth, unable to walk. Her widowed mother was poor. When the girl was old enough to start school, she began to campaign. "Mama, when can I go to school?" she asked, eyes full of excitement at the possibility. Her mother couldn't bear to discourage her, but there was no money beyond what they needed for food, clothes and occasional help from the health center nurse. She told her daughter, "God will provide for your future."

There was prosperous trader in their village who had no children. He had decided before the Lord that he would use some of his wealth to help children who couldn't afford to pay school fees. Seeing the plight of the family, he quietly offered to pay the girl's school fees. "But you mustn't let your daughter know it is me who pays for school." The little girl was excited. She worked hard at her lessons

Over the years, the trader visited the family from time to time, never tiring of the girl's progress reports. "How are you doing on your reading?" he would ask. "What did you learn this month? Tell me about the geography of Congo." Always questions about school. But never a word about school fees.

The girl continued on, doing well. But at the beginning of each year she grew anxious. "Mama, how will we pay for school this year?" And her mother always replied, "Don't worry, little one. God will provide for you." As the years passed and she grew more aware, she began to pester her mother. "Mama, please tell me who pays my school fees." Her mother always replied, "Little one, trust God for He holds your future in His hands."

The girl was a bright third-grader. She began to speculate about who paid her school fees. One day the trader visited to see how she was doing. And as the conversation turned around school, the connection clicked. In wonder at the grace she had received, she asked shyly in her most respectful tone, "Grandfather, are you God?"

We know we aren't God. But what a wonderful thing that from time to time our actions would be so full of God's love and compassion that for a few seconds, just a brief moment, the eyes of innocence might see in us the true presence of God.

(Karin Mukebwanga, picture above, the grand-daughter of our head house-worker, was born without use of her legs. No matter. Her brother ferries her 4 miles to school on his bicycle. A loving family has invested in her future.)