Even Muffins Matter

Read: John 15:9-14; 1 John 3:16-18

“Mom, there he is! Grab the bag!” Harper pressed her nose against the glass of the car window as Mom smiled and handed the man on the corner a bag filled with food and treats.

The man smiled and said, “God bless you!” as he accepted the free gift.

Whenever they went out, Mom, Harper, and Lincoln would bring a bag of food for anyone they saw who was in need. Then they would pray for the person after they received their bag.

“Dear God,” Lincoln prayed, “please help this man have enough food to fill him up today, and give him a warm place to sleep tonight. Most of all, if he doesn’t know You, we pray that he would open up his heart to you. Amen.”

“I bet he’ll love those chocolate chip banana muffins we made!” Harper said with a grin.

Lincoln laughed. “Yeah, good thing we went out today. There might not have been any left if we hadn’t—they were so tasty!”

Harper grew quiet as she looked out her window. “Mom? Do you think that man knows what love is?”

“Do you remember the verse we wrote down and put in the bag for him?” Mom asked.

“Yeah! First John 3:16. ‘This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.’”

“Exactly right,” Mom answered. “Do you know the rest of that verse? It says, ‘And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.’”

“We can’t die for people every day!” Lincoln reasoned.