Barbara often played alone, so it was extra fun when Sarah came to spend the day with her. “Let’s . . . ” began Barbara, and things began to happen. What one didn’t think of, the other did, until almost all the living room furniture was out of place to fit the game. Barbara suddenly came up with a new idea, but the next moment, everything else was forgotten as someone special appeared at the door.
“Uncle Charles!” Barbara shrieked and flung herself into his arms.
“Uncle Charles!” cried Sarah and threw her arms around his leg.
Barbara frowned. This was not fair. He was her very own uncle, and he was not for sharing. Sarah could at least be polite about it.
But Uncle Charles found a place on the couch and put his arms around the two girls.
“Listen,” he said, turning to Barbara. “I am your dad’s brother.” Then turning to Sarah he said, “I am your mom’s brother. You two are cousins, and I am really Uncle Charles to both of you - just as much one as the other. Now do you understand?”
Yes, but Barbara was not very sure. What’s mine is mine, she thought to herself, and her face was still frowning.
“Let me tell you a story about the name Barbara,” he said.
“A long time ago there were some very strong soldiers called Romans, and they came to Britain and won many fierce battles and took many prisoners back to Rome with them. One of the prisoners was a little girl about your size. She had blond hair and blue eyes, and she looked very different from the dark-haired people of Rome. Since she came from far away, she was called a barbarian, which really means that she came from a foreign country. She was taken to the market place and offered for sale as one of the barbarian children, and therefore she was called Barbara. They thought her blond hair was very pretty, and so Barbara became a nice name.
“So,” added Uncle Charles, “my little Barbara’s name means ‘a stranger,’ and my little Sarah’s name means ‘a princess,’ and both are very dear to me. But the most important thing about your name is to have it written down in the Lamb’s book of life. That’s where all the names are written down of those who will share God’s home forever.
“I can’t reach that book to sign my name there, but I know that God has written it there for me. Because Jesus is my Saviour, He belongs to me, and I belong to Him forever.
“You see, Barbara, you were born to be my niece, and so was Sarah. You can’t change it. It’s for all your lifetime. Sarah belongs to me just as much as you belong to me.
“I was born into the family of God when I took Jesus as my very own Lord and Saviour. And if you are saved too, then you are His just as much as I am. No more and no less.”
And then the cousins explained to Uncle Charles all about their game on the floor, and he was soon crawling around the floor after them. But they did not forget his lesson. Whether a stranger or a princess, God’s children are equally dear to His heart.
ML-11/18/2001