Daddy, help!
Right now, every time I am cooking dinner, or emptying the dishwasher, or taking out the trash, my daughter Evelyn incessantly cries out to me, “Daddy, help! Daddy, help! Daddy, help!” And she won’t stop until I give her a job to do. Sometimes there are helpful things for her to do, like take spaghetti out of the packet and put it in a saucepan, or take one of her plastic bowls out of the dishwasher and put it on the side.
But other times, honestly, I find myself creating jobs for her. Like when I asked her to get the cheese out of the fridge and because she couldn’t reach it, I got it for her, passed it to her and then asked her to give it to me! Or when she asked to help me take out the trash and I ended up carrying her as well as the trash out to the garbage can! I’m often left thinking: “I could have done this much more easily myself!”
Sometimes I wonder if God feels the same way about our desire to help and serve him. He could very easily sort out all the problems and messes with this world by himself, but he doesn’t. Instead, he chooses to give us a role, to give us a chance to serve. Ephesians 2:10 says: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, that God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
The reality is that when my daughter is older and out of the house, I’m going to miss those times when she cried out “Daddy, help!” I’m going to miss those moments when she so desperately wanted to be with me that she would help in any way she could. Time with my daughter is precious and I don’t want to take it for granted.
In the same way, don’t take for granted the opportunities you have to help your Daddy in heaven with the work that he is doing here on earth. So please, go here and sign up for Serve Saturday (9am-noon tomorrow) to spend some time helping your Daddy as he serves those in need in this community and further afield.
I’ll see you at 9:00am tomorrow in the Sanctuary.
Ellis
P.S. Happy birthday, Young Life! For 75 years, Young Life has worked to share God’s love with middle school, high school, and college aged students. Join us after Saturday Night at Chapel Hill and between services on Sunday as we celebrate Young Life’s birthday with cupcakes!