A Forgotten Prize

 •  3 min. read  •  grade level: 6
Listen from:
While Robby was still opening the door, he hollered happily, “Hi, Grandma, it’s hobby class day!”
“Sure is,” I answered, “but it’s only 11:00, and it doesn’t start until 2:00. You have to play for a while and eat lunch before we go.”
But Robby was only four years old, so at 11:05 he asked, “How long is it till hobby class?” At 11:10 he asked, “Is it time for hobby class yet?” At 11:15 he asked, “When is hobby class going to start?”
By 12:00 I was tired of reminding him that we had to wait until 2:00, so I told him I would give him a prize if he didn’t ask again. He didn’t ask, and hobby class time finally came.
The children had fun painting sun catchers to decorate their windows at home. Then after everyone had a yummy cupcake and some juice, we sang choruses, and Henry spoke to us about God and the sun.
Henry told us that in the beginning God created the sun (Genesis 1). In the Book of Joshua, God, who controls the sun, made it stand still so His people could have an extra-long day to win a victory over their enemies (Joshua 10). In Matthew, Mark and Luke we read how God darkened the sun so it could not shine at all for three hours while He punished His own beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for the sins of all who will believe (Matthew 27). Then in Acts we’re told how God made a light shine even brighter than the sun - so bright that it blinded Saul of Tarsus when he was on his way to gather up the Christians to throw them into prison (Acts 9). The last thing Henry told us about the sun was that in heaven we won’t need it because the Lord Himself will be the light there (Revelation 22).
Then hobby class was over. Robby’s mommy and daddy took him home, I went home to my house, and both of us forgot about Robby’s prize.
I hadn’t been home very long before the telephone rang. When I answered, a little voice said, “Grandma?”
“Yes?”
“Grandma, you forgot my prize.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Robby,” I answered. “But I’ll tell you what. When you come to Sunday school tomorrow, I’ll give it to you then. Will that be okay?”
“Yes, that will be okay, Grandma,” Robby said thoughtfully. Then he added, “But you better write it down in case you forget.”
God never forgets His children. He tells them, “I [will] not forget thee.  .  .  .  I have [engraved] thee upon the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:1516). There are many things in God’s Word, the Bible, that He would like us to think about and remember, too. I wonder if we pay close attention to what He tells us in the Bible so we’ll never forget.
Here is one verse that tells us something God wants us to remember: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:11Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; (Ecclesiastes 12:1)). This would be an easy verse to memorize.
ML-03/05/2006