One of the things I really enjoy is reading to the kids some of the books I read as a child. Recently I was reminded of Kenneth N. Taylor's fantastic books for children and requested them from our library.  The colored pencil illustrations and short lessons in rhyme with accompanying questions, prayer and Bible verse are perfect reading for the many sessions of potty-sitting that have been happening at our house during Corrie's training. Which are numerous and never ending. But I digress.

Today we were reading GIANT STEPS for little people and found immediate application for the following page:  

God wants you to share with others/ All he's given you./ So give your money cheerfully,/ And share your playthings too.

Store treasures in heaven where they will never lose their value, and are safe from thieves. Matthew 6:20

The illustration showed boys and girls and teddy bears bringing cans and boxes for a food drive. Several kids are helping stack and prepare the food to be given to children who are hungry. I took the opportunity to share how some children don't have enough to eat and they are hungry when they go to bed. One of the ways we show our love for God is by helping others. (Thanks, Boz!)

I asked the kids if they would like to share some of our food with kids who might be hungry and Jason got very excited. He quickly went to put on his shoes so we could take our food to a boy just like him. My heart just melted. I tried not to be too teary as I showed him the flyer we received yesterday from the National Association of Letter Carriers.

This Saturday, May 12, is their Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. You simply place some non-perishable food items in a bag and place it by your mail box. Your letter carrier will pick it up and deliver it to local food banks. I told the kids that we could fill up a plastic bag with food and our mail carrier would take it to the boys and girls who don't have enough. We went over to the pantry to select items for out bag.

Like many families, not only do we have our regular kitchen pantry filled with food, but we also have a spare pantry with a variety of items tucked away, perhaps purchased 2-for-1 or in a multi-pack at Sam's Club.  Our spare pantry is full with everything from extra boxes of cereal to cans of soup. And not just the basics either, but yummy sweet-treats too. And here lay the real lesson. As Jason stood on the step stool to peer into the pantry and select some items for the bag, his little heart, like all hearts, began to reconsider.

"Mom, we can give them this (a soup that he really doesn't like) but not this (a particularly sugary treat)."

Ah ha. Sacrifice that costs us something personally is not as easy as giving away our cast-offs. I guess that's why it's a called a sacrifice. I had a good opportunity to talk with Jason about how it pleases the Lord to give not only of the excess of our lives, but of the things that are most dear to us. Sugar, in his case. I think he understood a little when we looked through the pantry again and I helped him to choose a few of his favorite things for a boy just like him, who would be so excited to open a bag and find those very same items.

As I write I am reminded of the things our pastor shared on Sunday. He talked about David exemplifying holiness in his own life, even after the Lord rejected his offer to build a permanent home for Him. (David's son Solomon was chosen by God for that task.) Instead of sitting on his laurels, David led his people in providing the resources for his son to use, not only from the national treasury but from his own personal stores. He then invites the people to participate with him: "Who is willing to consecrate himself to the Lord?" 

David understood that a sacrifice that cost him nothing was worthless. The benefit of true sacrifice is not merely the satisfaction of some legalistic decree, but the acknowledgement of a very basic truth: where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Hopefully Jason got a little taste of what this means in his almost-4-year-old world.

And that is one giant step.