“Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” - John 1:3-5
Recently, the His Little Feet children’s choir studied John 1:3-5. Now, it is one thing to teach children a passage of Scripture in a devotional setting, but it is always quite moving when the Lord chooses to take that exact Scripture that has been studied and reveal its truth in our daily lives. When this happens, it enunciates His heart and desire for us to take His Word and be exactly what He has called us to be to the world.
About an hour after the devotional had been given on John 1:3-5, the team was driving in the bus and came across a homeless man selling newspapers on the side of the road. He was selling newspapers as a way to bring in a small income in order to get back on his feet. It just so happened that Mike and Christa Hahn, Founders and Directors of His Little Feet, have a dear friend that works for this same newspaper company.
The Hahn’s decided to buy a newspaper from the man, as well as ask the man to greet their dear friend back at the newspaper headquarters, later that day.
Uncle Mikey motioned the homeless man to approach the bus as Mike handed him money for a newspaper. Uncle Mikey said, “Hey there! How are you? By any chance do you know a tall 6-foot-10 man named Andy that works at the newspaper?”
At first the homeless man didn’t seem to know who Andy was. Then Uncle Mikey said, “Andy…the real tall man that works at the newspaper?” Finally, a big smile came across on his face as he said, “I do. Andy? Yes, he works at the newspaper.”
Uncle Mikey shared, “Andy is our friend. Would you be willing to do us a big favor? When you check back in today at the newspaper office, make sure to tell Andy hello from Mike and Christa.”
The homeless man joyfully said, “Oh yes, I sure will, no problem!”
As he walked away from the bus, Uncle Mikey said, “Have a good day!”
As the traffic light turned green and the bus started to move forward, the homeless man turned back around and knocked on the bus window. Uncle Mikey rolled the window back down and said, “Yes?”
All of the children leaned in to listen and watch. The homeless man said these words to Uncle Mikey: “Man! You got some life in you! There aren’t many people that smile and talk to me, but there’s something different about your life! You are just shining!”
With a grateful smile, Uncle Mikey responded, “Well, praise God! We just want to encourage you today in the Lord. It was so good to talk to you!”
The children and staff saw and heard the entire interaction. Then, as the bus pulled away, Uncle Mikey asked, “Did you hear what that man just said?" The children sat in their seats stunned. Uncle Mikey said, “The homeless man said I had 'life in me'! Whose life did the homeless man see? My life or the life of Jesus?” The children all shouted in reply, “JESUS!”
On the very morning we studied the Scripture out of John that says, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men,” the children were able to see a real, living example of what it means to be Christ to this world…to shine His life and light to others!
The words of the homeless man reminded us all how God’s life shines out of us to others! On this day, the reminder came on the side of the road on an off-ramp in Nashville, Tennessee.
