Dear Children,
November 3, 1969, was a Monday morning, and I was taking our dog out for a walk in the bush. It was a beautiful fall day. The sun was shining, leaves were falling, and as we walked, leaves would crackle under our feet. Just beautiful!
Then I happened to catch sight of a balloon caught in the branch of a tree about fifteen feet off the ground. I said to the dog, “That’s a strange place for someone to hang a balloon!” He looked up at me and barked at that thing hanging there and swaying in the wind. I said to him, “Okay, let’s get it down and inspect it.”
I hunted for a long branch on the ground that would reach it and then pulled it down to where we were standing. What we found was a really big surprise!
“What was it, Grampa, what was it?
Well, there was an envelope tied to the balloon with a short letter inside. This is what the letter said: “Please, whoever finds this balloon with my name and address tied to it, will you please mail it back to me. In our church, we are having a contest to see whose balloon will fly the farthest away.” The boy had signed his name, which was Paul, and included his address. He also wrote that he was eleven years old.
This balloon had been filled with helium gas to make it float up into the air. Paul, along with others in his Sunday school class, had taken their balloons outside and let them go on a Sunday morning. As Paul’s balloon floated up into the sky, it was caught by the wind currents and came all the way from Chicago to where we live in the Niagara area of Canada. That’s a distance of hundreds of miles, and here it was, right in my hands! The dog was quite interested in it as well!
Children, have you ever had the opportunity to speak to someone about the Lord Jesus? Don’t be afraid! Paul, who sent the note in the balloon, was not afraid to write that he was a Christian. And he also wrote his address on the note and asked if the finder of his balloon would please write back and tell him where he had found it.
God can use you to carry a gospel message to anyone. But first, you must know the Lord Jesus as your very own Saviour. How old are you? When did you trust Him as your Saviour? I was fourteen when I trusted Him as my Saviour. That is many years ago now. Paul was not ashamed to write to me that he was born again. Are you ashamed to tell your friends? “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:1616For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)).
After the dog and I returned home, Gramma wanted to know, “What on earth is that in your hands?” When I explained to her what it was, she was very surprised!
Yes, I wrote to Paul, telling him where we lived and where we found the balloon. He was overjoyed to read my letter. And yes, he answered my letter and told me his balloon won first prize for traveling the farthest.
Children, God has written to us in His holy Word, the Bible, that unless we are saved, or born again, we will never be in heaven. Are you saved? Don’t be left out! Make that decision today to accept the Lord Jesus as your very own Saviour!
Lots of love,
Grampa
ML-06/08/2014