Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Sweaty Jesus

Amanda and I rode the motorcycle to the park tonight. We were fixing one of our hidden geocaches that needed some attention, and of course we had to play tag on the playground. We were the only two there for just a few minutes when a little boy asked me, "Are you playing 'Tag, You're It'?" I told him we were and he asked, "Can we play"? I told him they could, so Amanda and I played tag with two six year old boys for about 30 minutes.

The boys were polite and mannerly and it really was not a chore to let them play. They had a lot of fun laughing, running and chasing this over-weight adult who was willing to play tag with them. It was sorta one of those "you can't say no" situations, but I also thought about that phrase "Jesus with skin on". I wanted to show them God's love and let them know that somebody thought they were valuable. By the time we were done, I think I looked more like "sweaty Jesus" than "Jesus with skin on", but I hope I made an impression on them.

As we were leaving, one boy came running up and acted like he wanted to give me a hug. Realizing where we were and how somebody might mistake it, I acted like I didn't see him and walked on by (what if his parents saw him hugging some strange man?). But then he came running up and said, "hug, hug, hug". I gave him the 'side hug' we were taught in Bible college and left feeling like I at least got to be "sweaty Jesus" to two little boys. If the one boy was comfortable hugging adults, I'm guessing his home life is not too horrible, but I was still glad he got to see some adult thought he was worth the time to play tag. I also got to talk to Amanda about why we let them play and how it was something Jesus would have done.

Often times I know I miss the boat and do not give a witness for the Lord when I have the chance. Tonight, I didn't miss the chance...and it felt good.

1 comment:

hunt4christ said...

job well done