1 In 323

We did a drawing this afternoon in my 8th grade Bible classes. Combining the two sections, our oldest middle schoolers were in the mix for two Chik-fil-A gift cards, valued at $15 each. It was an unannounced surprise as we brought my second period bunch in with my eighth period group. There was a twist, though. You see, it was a reverse drawing. All the kids' names were put in an envelope and drawn out one by one. The winners were the names left in the hat at the end of the contest. Under normal circumstances, Vanessa and Aidan would have been the recipients because their names were the first to be drawn. But since the rules were changed, they were almost instantly eliminated. The winners were Sherry and Jonathan, and apparently they like Chik-fil-A. Good for them!

But this is not so much a story about this afternoon as it is about Sherry. You see, we had another, more modest reverse drawing last week and Sherry won that, too! (It was for a CD of the 50th anniversary edition of Charlie Brown Christmas and Sherry was the sole winner.) One of the eighth grade boys, Will, doing some quick calculations and factoring in absences, concluded there was only a 1 in 323 chance that the name of Sherry was not pulled on either occasion! How highly improbable is it that Sherry, who is from China, was never selected? I find it almost eerie!

Here's the point we made in wrapping up the time with these kids. Besides myself, Ruth Pilarte (English teacher), Annette Turner (MS Administrator), and Justin Lacey (WCS Director of Communication) spoke to these barely teens as we tied up the festivities. Sometimes it's better not to get picked as Sherry has proven twice. Jesus turned the thought process of His day upside down by proclaiming the last shall be first and the first shall be last in Matthew 20:16. I told the story of a young lady whose wedding I preached who went though several heartaches which allowed her to meet the man she married. We get upset when we get cut from the team or don't get the role or the girlfriend/boyfriend but often it turns out to be for our blessing. I told them about visiting a twelve year old girl in Vietnam who was in hiding from her violent father who had threatened to kill her mother. I asked the eighth graders how many were willing to trade places with that Asian girl- no takers. We, the adults, tried to get them to understand that they have been blessed so much simply by winning the lottery of the birthplace, coming into a world of affluence instead of poverty. We just finished the story of Jesus healing the demon-possessed man who wanted to follow Jesus as a disciple. Instead, the Savior tells him in the incident recorded in both Luke and Mark to go tell what the Lord has done for you. That's pretty good advice, even today. These kids have been blessed so richly, it should be natural to praise God in return. It should be even more natural for us as adults. And we don't even need our names pulled out of a hat.

Applicable quote of the day:
I've done the calculation and your chances of winning the lottery are identical whether you play or not.
Fran Lebowitz

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mai me at steve@hawleybooks.com