When Do I Die?

A family was involved in a serious traffic accident. Mike, the youngest of two brothers involved, was badly injured and needed a blood transfusion. Mike's big brother Danny, who was only eight years old, had the same blood type as his younger brother. The dad sat down with Danny and carefully explained to him why this blood transfusion was needed and how wonderful it would be for his little brother. After some silence, Danny responded by saying, "Yes, Daddy, I'll give my blood to Mike so he can get well."
At the hospital, a pint of blood was drawn from Danny's veins. Only after the needle was removed did Danny turn to his father with tears rolling down his cheeks and ask, "Daddy, when do I die?"
The father suddenly realized with a shock that Danny had misunderstood his explanation of giving blood. Danny thought he was giving all his blood to save the life of his brother! He thought he would die after the transfusion was over. Yet he still had agreed to help his brother.


Lesson:
Danny was willing to die so that his little brother would live. That's what Christ did for each of us. He shed His own blood to give us life. He died for us so... we may live together with him" (1 Thess. 5:10).

Uncompromising Determination

A farmer was driving down the road one day and noticed a signed by the local airport that said "EXPERIENCE THE THRILL OF FLYING." The farmer thought to himself, Tomorrows is my wife's birthday. I'd love for her to experience the thrill of flying. That would sure make a nice birthday present.
The farmer went into the airport and after sometime found a pilot who would take him and his wife on a flight over their farm. The pilot owned a small open cockpit plane that would certainly give his wife a thrill, but the pilot's price was too high. The farmer bartered with the pilot for a long time, insisting on a lower price. Finally, the pilot agreed to the lower price, on one condition: the farmer and his wife had to promise not to say a single word during the entire flight. One word spoken aloud, however small, would increase the prices to the pilot's original fee. The farmer's determination to give his wife the thrill of flying was only surpassed by his determination to spend as little money as possible, so he agreed to the condition.
The next morning the three of them took off and soon were high in the air. The pilot knew that if he did a few roller-coaster dips and turns with the plane, the couple in the backseat would speak up and he would receive the higher price. With that in mind, the pilot dipped and turned, climbed and dived, even did a few loop-de-loops. But not a sound was uttered. Not a scream, not a whimper. Nothing but silence.
As they were landing, the pilot, amazed at the determination of his passengers, yelled back to the farmer, "I can't believe you didn't say something up there! why, I dipped and turned, climbed and dived as never before, but you two were quite the whole time. I guess you win!"
The farmer shouted back, "Well, you almost won, son. You almost won. I sure felt like screaming when my wife fell out."


Lesson:
The old farmer was determined to get what he wanted on his terms. He got it, but with a result that he probably hadn't counted on. Some of us are like that. We can be amazingly determined to have things our way. We let pride stubbornness get in the way of listening to reason or doing what we know is right.

Are you like that sometimes? You know that God wants, but you want something else. Before long there is a battle of the wills. Who is going to win? The truth is, you may win a battle or two, but you always lose of the war. If you are a strong-willed person, with a mind of your own, God wants you! God wants to transform and to channel your determination into a determination to serve Christ and to stick with Him no matter what. God is looking for people who stubbornly refuse to turn away from Jesus Christ.

THE TURTLE PICNIC

A Turtle family went on a picnic. They had prepared seven years for their outing. The family left home, searching for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey, they found it. For about six months they cleared the area, unpacked the picnic basket and completed the arrangements. They discovered, however, that they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without a salt would be a disaster, they all agreed.

After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt at home. Although he was the fastest of the slow-moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go only one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.

Three years passed-and the little turtle had not returned. Five years. Six years.  Then in the seventh year his absence, the eldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced they he was going to eat and began to unwrap a sandwich. At that point, the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, "SEE! I knew you wouldn't wait! Now, I'm not going to get the salt."

Lesson:

Some of us like the little turtle, don't trust anyone or give anyone the benefit of the doubt. We waste away our whole lives waiting for people to live up to our poor expectations of them---and they always do.

We can be thankful that God doesn't treat us that way. He accept us just the way we are. He believes in us. He cheers us on. He thinks the best of us. He is proud of us. When we mess up, He forgives and forgets, and gives us another opportunity to do good. That's how God treat us, and that's how we are to treat others. Let's not think the worst of each other. Let's expect the best.