The Little Boy
Monday, February 19, 2007
Tom always took little Jimmy into Chutes and Ladders, a 100 square foot play place with many tunnels, tubes, and slides, every year for his birthday, until this year. Jimmy would tear around the place crawling, running, sliding, and having the best time in his life. But, this year Tom had something much greater in store for little Jimmy. He was going to take him to Disney World. Yes, it was Jim's seventh birthday and his father wanted this year to be extra special. On the morning of Jimmy's seventh birthday, he awoke as usual ready for Chutes and Ladders, unaware of the surprise in store. Disney World!!! It made that little Chutes and Ladders pale in comparison. The days of fun that could be had at Disney World were going to be such a pleasure. Tom could bearly wait to watch little Jimmy light up when he spotted Mickey Mouse, and feel little Jimmy's hug as he went through a scary ride.
But, when Jimmy heard that he was going to Disney World he was upset. Jimmy hadn't ever heard of Disney World (although most kids have heard about Disney World, for the sake of the story, let's pretend that little Jimmy has never heard of it). He didn't want to go, he told his dad. Jimmy just couldn't fathom the fun in store for him at Disney World. How could it even compare to Chutes and Ladders, which had to be the best thing ever. He whined and complained the whole car ride down from Myrtle Beach, about an hour's drive from Orlando. Come on, Tom said, it will be the best thing you have ever experienced. But, Jimmy just couldn't understand how great Disney World was.
Now, let's take this story to the next step. Let's replace Tom (the dad) with God (our father), and little Jimmy with us. God gave us this earth (or Chutes and Ladders in the story) to enjoy and we have fun, we have fellowship and friends, entertainment of all sorts. But, soon, God has something so much greater in store for us. Something that is so much greater than Chutes and Ladders, he has heaven for us. Something so amazing and so much better than this earth, that we cannot possibly comprehend it. The dad in the story would be hurt because his son didn't want to go to Disney World becuase he was stuck on his "fun" Chutes and Ladders. Just the same God is hurt by our rejection of his gift, eternity in heaven. Sure, there are pleasures on this earth, but what God has in store for us in heaven is so much greater. Why can't we get our minds off this earth and accept God's "Disney World" gift for us.
Disclaimer: I had heard this story before in a book I read. I decided to use and adapt it for my own purposes. Today I just finished reading "The Slumber of Christianity" by Ted Dekker. It talked about how modern Christians lack a longing for heaven. It reminded me of this story and I wanted to share it all with you.
Posted by The Dave 9:26 PM
