An eye witness account from New York City, on a cold day in December, some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.
A lady approached the young boy and said, "My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!"
"I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes," was the boy's reply.
The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel.
By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes.
She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, "No doubt, you will be more comfortable now."
As she turned to go, the astonished lad caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her:
"Are you God's wife?"
[Editor's comment: John in his prologue to his Gospel (the Gospel of John) wrote this in verse 14, "And the Word (Jesus Christ) became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood" (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
This story is a lovely illustration of how the Word (Jesus Christ) living in you can move into your neighborhood. Give some prayerful thought to selecting someone you know who is in need and minister to that person's need.]
A lady approached the young boy and said, "My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!"
"I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes," was the boy's reply.
The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel.
By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes.
She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, "No doubt, you will be more comfortable now."
As she turned to go, the astonished lad caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her:
"Are you God's wife?"
[Editor's comment: John in his prologue to his Gospel (the Gospel of John) wrote this in verse 14, "And the Word (Jesus Christ) became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood" (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
This story is a lovely illustration of how the Word (Jesus Christ) living in you can move into your neighborhood. Give some prayerful thought to selecting someone you know who is in need and minister to that person's need.]