“Let’s do something different today,” Randy said to his sister Gwen. “Everything is so boring, and I want to do something exciting.”
“Me, too,” said Gwen. “Do you have any ideas?”
It was spring vacation for Randy and Gwen. School had been out for several days, and the children were tired of playing the same old games. They sat thinking about what they could do that would be different.
“I have a good idea,” Randy announced after a few minutes of deep thinking. “Let’s form a club. We’ll call it ‘The Surprise Club!’ I’ll be the president, and you can be the vice-president.”
“Okay,” said Gwen, willing to do anything her older brother suggested, “but what are we going to do?”
“Well, we’ll give people surprises,” answered Randy.
“What kind of surprises?” asked Gwen.
“Oh, only good ones, of course,” answered Randy. “We’ll find people who need things done for them. Then we’ll help them or give them something without letting them know who did it. It will make them wonder who did it. I think we’ll have lots of fun, too.”
“So do I,” said Gwen. “What are we going to do first?”
“Well,” answered Randy, picking up a pencil, “I’ll make a list of things, and then we can decide what to do first. But remember, don’t tell anybody what our plans are. It’s a secret!”
The Surprise Club makes me think of something that should not be a surprise to boys and girls. I know there are many children who do not know that God loves them. We know from what the Lord Jesus said that God loves every one of us. In the Bible we read, “For God so loved the world [everyone in it], that He gave His only begotten Son [the Lord Jesus Christ], that whosoever [anyone] believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16).
Is it a surprise that God loves you? Let me tell you just how much he loves us. God’s only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, died on Calvary’s cross, taking the punishment that I deserved for my sins. Was He punished for your sins? Yes, He was, if you admit that you are a sinner and accept Him as your Saviour. The Bible says in Galatians 2:2020I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20), “The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Can you say that? If you accept Him as your Saviour, God promises you everlasting life. “He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life.” John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24). Don’t push His love aside any longer. Why not accept Him right now?
The first surprise on their list was to help their mother. She had gone to the store, leaving the lunch dishes in the sink. Quickly, the two children did the dishes and put them all away. Then they taped a note on the kitchen door.
Later, when Mother returned from shopping, she carried the bags of groceries into the kitchen. Then she noticed the clean kitchen. “How did this happen?” she wondered out loud. She listened, but the house was quiet. Randy and Gwen were not around. She opened the note she saw taped to the door. It read, “The Surprise Club was here this afternoon.” Mother smiled and thought, “I wonder what’s going on? It must be a game that Randy and Gwen are playing. They can play that game any time they want. I’d like to thank them, but I’ll play along with their game.”
During the next few days some other notes appeared. She found one by the flower beds that had just been weeded. Then she found another one by the bookcase that had been straightened up and the books neatly arranged. Both of them were signed, “From the Surprise Club.”
Randy and Gwen didn’t give surprises only to their mother. Their cousin Ricky was sick in bed with the mumps. Sitting up in bed, Ricky could see the backyard from his window.
One afternoon, something moving in the backyard caught his attention. A white box was coming over the top of their back fence and was being lowered to the grass by a string that disappeared over the fence.
“Mom, come here, quick!” Ricky called. Pointing out the window, he told her, “That box just came over the fence. Please go see what it is!”
She went out and picked up the box. It had Ricky’s name on it. She looked around, but could not see who had left it, so she brought it in for Ricky to open. Inside he found three small packages with a note on each. The first one said, “Open Monday"; the second one said, “Open Wednesday"; and the third one said, “Open Friday.”
Since it was Monday Ricky opened the first package. Inside he found a box of crayons and a coloring book with a note saying, “From the Surprise Club.”
“Hey, this is a neat coloring book, but who’s it from?” Ricky asked his mother.
“I sure don’t know,” she answered, shaking her head.
The next morning Ricky’s mother was telling Randy and Gwen’s mother about the surprise package. Randy’s mother said she had also been finding surprises with notes signed the same way.
“I think it’s Randy and Gwen,” their mother said, “but I think they want it to be a mystery.”
“Well, I think I’ll play the game, too,” said Ricky’s mother laughing.
Several days later a letter came to Randy and Gwen’s house addressed to “The Surprise Club.” Inside were two gift certificates for hamburgers, french fries and milkshakes at their favorite restaurant. Also enclosed was a thank-you note for cheering up Ricky.
They had been discovered! The children didn’t know how anyone had found out about their secret, but it didn’t really matter. They were still as happy as they could be. Spring vacation had been a lot of fun.
God is still offering the wonderful gift of everlasting life to anyone who will accept it. The gifts given by the Surprise Club would not have been gifts if they had not been accepted. Won’t you accept the gift that is being offered to you? All you need to do is believe what the Bible says. In Acts 16:3030And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (Acts 16:30) a question is asked—“What must I do to be saved?” The answer is very simple — “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31). Simply believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way that you can be saved. Why not do this right now and accept Him as your Saviour?
ML-05/15/1983