The Offering
Here is a story, reported to be true, about a
nine-year-old boy who
lived in a rural town in Tennessee. His house was in a
poor area of
the community. A church there had a bus ministry that
came knocking
on his door one Saturday afternoon. The child came to
answer the door
and greeted the bus pastor.
The bus pastor asked if his parents were home and
the small boy
told him that his parents take off every weekend and
leave him at
home to take care of his little brother.
The bus pastor could not believe what the child
said and asked him
to repeat it. The youngster gave the same answer and
the bus pastor
asked to come in and talk with him. They went into the
living room
and sat down on an old couch with the foam and springs
exposed. The
bus pastor asked the child, "Where do you go to
church?"
The young boy surprised the visitor by replying,
"I've never been
to church in my whole life." The bus pastor thought to
himself about
the fact that his church was less than three miles
from the child's
house.
"Are you sure you have never been to church?" he
asked again.
"I'm sure I haven't, " came his answer.
Then the bus pastor said, "Well, son, more important
than going to
church, have you ever heard the greatest love story
ever told?" and
then he proceeded to share the gospel with this little
nine-year-old
boy.
The young lad's heart began to be tenderized and at
the end of the
bus pastor's story, the bus pastor asked if the boy
wanted to receive
this free gift from God.
The youngster exclaimed, "OF COURSE!"
The child and the bus pastor got on their knees and
the lad invited
Jesus into his little heart and received the free gift
of salvation.
They both stood up and the bus pastor asked if he
could pick the
child up for church the next morning.
"Sure," the nine year old replied.
The bus pastor got to the house early the next
morning and found
the lights off. He let himself in, snaked his way
through the house,
and found the little boy asleep in his bed. He woke up
the little boy
and his brother and helped get them dressed. They got
on the bus and
ate a doughnut for breakfast on their way to church.
Keep in mind that this boy had never been to church
before. The
church was a real big one. The little child just sat
there, clueless
of what was going on. A few minutes into the service,
these tall
unhappy guys walked down to the front and picked up
some wooden
plates.
One of the men prayed and the child, with utter
fascination,
watched them walk up and down the aisles. He still did
not know what
was going on.
Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, it hit the
child what was
taking place. These people must be giving money to
Jesus. He then
reflected on the free gift of life he had received
just twenty-four
hours earlier. He immediately searched his pockets,
front and back,
and could not find a thing to give Jesus.
By this time the offering plate was being passed
down his aisle
and, with a broken heart, he just grabbed the plate
and held on to
it. He finally let go and watched it pass on down the
aisle. He
turned around to see it passed down the aisle behind
him. And then
his eyes remained glued on the plate as it was passed
back and
forth, back and forth all the way to the rear of the
sanctuary.
Then he had an idea. This little nine-year-old boy,
in front of God
and everybody, got up out of his seat. He walked
about eight rows
back, grabbed the usher by the coat, and asked to hold
the plate one
more time. Then he did the most astounding thing:
He took the plate, sat it on the carpeted church
floor, and stepped
into the center of it. As he stood there, he lifted
his little head
up and said, "Jesus, I don't have anything to give you
today, but
just me. I give you me!"
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