There are lots of things in life to give us joy. Birthdays are usually lots of fun, and special holidays from school are a real treat too. Now can you think of something else that is better than all other happy events and that gives us joy that will last forever? What about the verse that says, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:10)? That is a very special joy, and we’ll talk more about it a little later. But first I’d like to tell you about something that gave us joy last winter.
It was such a snowy winter where we live, and the snow kept piling up and got deeper and deeper. We noticed that the birds were no longer coming to our bird feeder. We decided that most of them must have migrated to a warmer climate where food was more plentiful. But there were usually some birds that stayed in our area through the winter months. Every day we would look for them, but there were not any to be seen.
Then one day something remarkable happened. We finally saw a bird at our feeder, eating seeds for a long time. She seemed to be almost starved! After eating for quite a while, the bird would fold up her wings and just rest on the perch, looking at herself in the glass that separated her from the storehouse of seeds.
The hungry bird continued to come to the feeder for several days. At night she would fly to a nearby tree to sleep and then come back to the feeder early the next morning for breakfast. We named the bird “Joy,” because it was so much fun to watch her enjoying the seeds in the feeder.
Then one night there was a heavy snowstorm, and the feeder was covered with snow. We thought we had better bundle up and get out there to clean the snow off the feeder. But before we had a chance to do so, Joy appeared and found a spot where there were a few available seeds. We noticed her wings flapping quite often, which probably cleared enough snow away for her to be able to reach more seeds. That brave, little bird, which looked so lonely, seemed to have found a good place to stay, and she gave us joy with her daily company.
Have each of you boys and girls given the angels of God that joy that Luke 15:10 tells us about? If you have repented of your sins, you have not only given God’s angels joy, you yourself will also have everlasting joy that begins here in this world and will continue when you live in heaven with the Lord Jesus. Boys and girls, if you have not repented of your sins, you don’t have that joy, but it can be yours today.
The word “repent” means to change your mind and feel sorry about your sins. The Lord Jesus loves you very much, and if you will tell Him that you know you are a sinner and you want Him to wash your sins away, He will gladly remove every single sin and give you that joy and happiness that He promises. “Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he” (Proverbs 16:20). And if you trust in the Lord Jesus, it gives Him great joy too.
MEMORY VERSE: “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:10
ML-11/30/2008