BobHunt
10th June 2006, 09:24 PM (21:24)
To most of you, this is a children's book, but, there are some lessons that we as adults really really need to learn.
Dani is born on Christmas Eve, and his mother dies giving birth to him. This leaves his 17 yr old sister Annette to raise him. If there were just the two of them, all would have been fine, but another character breaks into the pages and he is a bully. His name is Lucien, and when Annette gets Lucien in trouble in school, Lucien strikes back, or seeks to get even. He does this by attacking the one thing that Annette holds dear: her brother Dani.
Lucien grabs Danis pet cat, Klaus, and drops him over a cliff. Forgetting about himself Dani tries to rescue his beloved feline and falls over the cliff himself and Lucien leaves him for dead.
When Dani is discovered alive, the news of Lucien's cowardice spreads faster than the newspaper headlines and Lucien is shunned by everyone, even his classmates.
There is one thing that disturbs me, and that is when I see a professing Christian, a Child of God, who is bent on getting even, against someone they thing did them wrong. It reminds me of a bumper sticker I used to see every once in a while on pickup trucks. It said "If you touch my truck, I'll break your face." You know, its the old attitude, if you punch me, I'll do it twice as hard to you. To me, this is directly opposite of the commands of Jesus, when He admonishes us to be humble, and turn the other cheek. God said vengance is mine. It is He who will some day set all records straight.
So glad to say, that this story doesnt end there. Lucien finds out that if he is to be loved, he will have to earn it. If Lucien wants to have the love and respect of the towns people and Annette, he can not continue on in his bullyish ways and get even attitudes. He takes a long trek through the snow filled mountains to fetch a doctor to help Dani who is at a very low ebb physically. In fact, Lucien risks his vey life to do this, and finally earns the love and respect of others.
Annette learns a lesson herself. She had become a very bitter person. No one could talk to her about it. Sometimes we allow bitterness to creep into our heart, and not even God can convince us that it is I who stands in the need of prayer. Bitterness shortens our live, gives us high blood pressure and most often spreads from us to a hundred others in a short time. It keeps the phone lines hot, keeps a snarl on the lips, and keeps a roll in the eyes especially behind someone's back. Wouldnt it be wonderful if God would take all that out of our lives? Annette learned forgiveness. It was the forgiveness that forgets. Its the kind that Jesus had towards those who persecuted Him. Its the kind He has to you and me, when He casts our sins in the sea, and doesnt bring them up to our face again!
Maybe Im making too much out of this little child's book, nevertheless, these lessons remain for us to learn, and if we do, we will be more like Jesus. Lord, stamp thy own image deep on my heart.
Dani is born on Christmas Eve, and his mother dies giving birth to him. This leaves his 17 yr old sister Annette to raise him. If there were just the two of them, all would have been fine, but another character breaks into the pages and he is a bully. His name is Lucien, and when Annette gets Lucien in trouble in school, Lucien strikes back, or seeks to get even. He does this by attacking the one thing that Annette holds dear: her brother Dani.
Lucien grabs Danis pet cat, Klaus, and drops him over a cliff. Forgetting about himself Dani tries to rescue his beloved feline and falls over the cliff himself and Lucien leaves him for dead.
When Dani is discovered alive, the news of Lucien's cowardice spreads faster than the newspaper headlines and Lucien is shunned by everyone, even his classmates.
There is one thing that disturbs me, and that is when I see a professing Christian, a Child of God, who is bent on getting even, against someone they thing did them wrong. It reminds me of a bumper sticker I used to see every once in a while on pickup trucks. It said "If you touch my truck, I'll break your face." You know, its the old attitude, if you punch me, I'll do it twice as hard to you. To me, this is directly opposite of the commands of Jesus, when He admonishes us to be humble, and turn the other cheek. God said vengance is mine. It is He who will some day set all records straight.
So glad to say, that this story doesnt end there. Lucien finds out that if he is to be loved, he will have to earn it. If Lucien wants to have the love and respect of the towns people and Annette, he can not continue on in his bullyish ways and get even attitudes. He takes a long trek through the snow filled mountains to fetch a doctor to help Dani who is at a very low ebb physically. In fact, Lucien risks his vey life to do this, and finally earns the love and respect of others.
Annette learns a lesson herself. She had become a very bitter person. No one could talk to her about it. Sometimes we allow bitterness to creep into our heart, and not even God can convince us that it is I who stands in the need of prayer. Bitterness shortens our live, gives us high blood pressure and most often spreads from us to a hundred others in a short time. It keeps the phone lines hot, keeps a snarl on the lips, and keeps a roll in the eyes especially behind someone's back. Wouldnt it be wonderful if God would take all that out of our lives? Annette learned forgiveness. It was the forgiveness that forgets. Its the kind that Jesus had towards those who persecuted Him. Its the kind He has to you and me, when He casts our sins in the sea, and doesnt bring them up to our face again!
Maybe Im making too much out of this little child's book, nevertheless, these lessons remain for us to learn, and if we do, we will be more like Jesus. Lord, stamp thy own image deep on my heart.