Grabbing for the Good
SEIZE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO DO THE RIGHT THING.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read Ephesians 5:10-16.
Verse of the Day: “Make the most of every opportunity for doing good” (Ephesians 5:16).
Toby sat on a horse by himself and listened to Grandpa, who sat on the horse next to Toby’s. Grandpa balanced Callie, Toby’s little sister, in front of him. Toby liked riding the merry-go-round, or “carousel,” as his Grandpa called it, on the boardwalk of the seaside resort town where his grandparents lived.
“When I was your age,” Grandpa said, “a carousel would usually have a shiny brass ring hanging on a ribbon from the roof. As we rode the horses ’round and ’round, we would try to snatch that ring off the ribbon.” He described how they would wait until just the right moment and then try to grab the ring as their horse passed by it. “There were only so many chances to get that ring, so we grabbed when we got the chance, because whoever got the ring got a special prize!”
“What kind of prize?” Callie asked.
“Oh, nothing like the toys you kids have,” Grandpa said, his eyes twinkling. “Just a little trinket; maybe a tin trumpet or a little wooden train. But in those days that was something special.”
“I wish this merry-go-round had a ring,” Toby said as the ride slowed and they prepared to get off. “I would jump up like this-” he pushed himself off the horse’s back and stretched his arm high in the air- “and I’d get the prize for sure.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you did,” Grandpa said, smiling.
As they left the carousel Grandpa spied a woman in a wheelchair. She was by herself and was wheeling herself to the steep ramp that led up to the boardwalk.
“Wait right here,” Grandpa said.
Toby and Callie watched as Grandpa said hello to the woman; got behind her wheelchair; and pushed her up the ramp. She thanked him, and Grandpa turned and joined Toby and Callie again.
“Why did you do that, Grandpa?” Callie asked.
“I think I know!” Toby said. “It’s like grabbing the ring, isn’t it, Grandpa? You saw that she needed help, so you grabbed the chance to help her, didn’t you?”
Grandpa smiled in amazement. “I reckon you’re right,” he said. “I never thought of it that way, but the Bible does tell us to do good to everyone as we have the opportunity. You’re a bright young man, Toby.”
“But Grandpa,” Callie asked, “you don’t get a prize for helping that lady, do you?” “Oh, yes, I do,” Grandpa said, “but I won’t know what it is until I get to heaven!”
TO DO: Make a pledge as a family to look for—and seize—opportunities for doing good during the next twenty-four hours. Report back tomorrow on how you made the most of those opportunities.
TO PRAY: “Father God, show us the opportunities we have for doing good to others.”