Application
We need to learn to show love, concern and care for others.
Text
John 13:34-35, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
Story:
The King's Kid's Club were excited - "We're going camping!" All week they
had been preparing their gear. Herbie boasted to all who would listen
that he was going to catch rabbits and birds and all sorts of wild animals!
He was an impossible know-it-all, and everybody tried to avoid him
whenever they could.
The weekend came at last and they packed their back-packs into the bus and
clambered aboard. The trip seemed endless but at last they arrived at
the start of the trail leading to their campsite. Their leader, Phillip,
gathered them around and prayed that God would keep them safe.
"Now, stay together and don't wander off the track!" he warned, "Otherwise you
may get lost or hurt. Remember, this is a team-building camp.
Let's think about how Jesus said that He has loved us, so you must love one
another. You have all given your lives to Jesus, so I want you to learn
to care and appreciate each other."
Herbie Doesn't Listen:
The children all agreed to do their best, but not Herbie. He hardly
listened. He was too busy planning what mischief he could get up to.
As soon as Phillip was finished he ran on ahead up the track.
"Hey, Herbie!" shouted Phillip, "Weren't you listening to what I just told
you."
Herbie stamped his foot as all the children laughed at him. He decided
there and then that he was going to get them back - real good! All that
day Herbie rebelled and at every opportunity he would run ahead and tie the
long grass into traps to trip the girls. Then he would hide behind a
tree and then laugh as someone tripped over the knot.
Later he hid in the bush and threw stones to annoy the boys. He smoked
whenever he could and pushed poor Mary off the track and she fell over a rock
and got a huge lump on her forehead. He just laughed and refused to
say he was sorry!
Phillip got cross and grabbed Herbie. He shook Herbie as hard as he could
and shouted at him to behave himself. Do you think Herbie listened?
Of course not! He just carried on. That night he sulked at
the campfire as everybody was fed-up with him and refused to talk to him or
even sit near him.
That Brat Herbie!
Next day the children were still cross with him and decided to ignore Herbie.
They hiked on but Herbie refused to listen to anybody. He kept on
wandering off into the bush and making Phillip scared that he would get lost.
Even when they stopped for lunch near a pool of water, Herbie had to
show off by jumping into the pool from a high dangerous rock.
When Phillip stopped this, he started ducking the smaller children until they
came up half-drowned. "I don't know why you came on this hike,"
exclaimed Phillip, "You really are a dreadful boy!"
At mid-afternoon, they came across a sheepfold in a clearing in the trees.
"Look," said Peter, "The shepherd is leading his sheep into the fold!"
The children watched as the shepherd led the sheep inside. At
last there was only a black lamb who refused to go inside and kept running
away. The children laughed at his antics and were sorry when the
shepherd eventually caught it and carried it triumphantly over his shoulder
into the fold.
Lost and Hurt!
Herbie got bored, so he rushed on ahead. Phillip called after him and
warned him that he would get lost. But, Herbie carried on regardless
over the hill. At some stage he missed the track and after a time
realised that he was lost. "Not to worry," he thought, "I'll just
climb onto these rocks to see where the others are."
He scrambled up the steep rocks and was pleased to find himself as King of the
Castle. Just as he remembered why he had climbed up, his foot slipped.
He let out a yell as he fell back into a crevice. He lay there
panting as pain shot up his leg.
Trapped!
Herbie tried to free his boot. But, he couldn't move it. It was
trapped beneath a rock! He shouted, "Help! Help!" at the the top of
his voice. But, when he listened, all he could hear were birds calling
from some trees lower down. He slumped down thinking that the others
would soon be along. He thought he was close to the track, but in fact
the rocks were well off the track and the campers passed by him not realising
that he was lost and trapped.
His thirst grew as the afternoon sun beat down on the rocks and he wished that
he hadn't thrown away his water bottle in a fit of rage. He was still
trapped as the sun went down. Hunger gnawed at his insides and he
wondered what would happen to him. He was sure that that ninny Phillip
would soon miss him and come charging up to scream and shout at his bad
behaviour. "Serves him right if he gets a fright that I am lost," he
chuckled.
The campers did not know that Herbie was missing. They came to the
campsite that evening and set up their tents. Around supper someone
suddenly realised that Herbie was missing. Phillip looked extremely
worried and said that they would will have to wait until morning as they
would never find him in the dark. And he couldn't take a chance that
someone else might also get lost.
I'm going to Die!
Meanwhile, Herbie started to sob as the pain grew worse in his leg. As
dark descended, he became frightened. "If only I had listened and
stayed with the rest, I wouldn't be in this mess," he thought. He could
not sleep as his leg throbbed and he shivered from the cold. He heard
rustling noises in the bush and jumped with fright when an owl hooted right
over his head.
"I'm going to die," he thought, "I'm lost and nobody will ever find me as I'm
down in this cleft in the rocks." As he lay there he remembered about
the shepherd and the black lamb that kept running away. "I'm just like
that lamb," he muttered to himself, and suddenly realised that he had not
acted like a Christian at all during the past two days! He thought
about last Sunday where the Children's Church teacher had spoken about Jesus
being their Great Shepherd.
Herbie Prays:
He recalled the memory verse from John 10:14. Jesus had said, "I am the
Good Shepherd - I know My sheep and My sheep know Me." He remembered
that this Shepherd had not just been hired, but was One who cared deeply for
His sheep. Herbie thought about His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary
which proved for once and all that we are loved. He knew that if he
followed Him, Jesus would do him nothing but good.
"Oh, Jesus," he prayed, "I don't seem to know You very well at all. I
wonder if You know me. I think I am going to die here. I am
sorry for all the bad things that I did to the other children. Please
forgive me and make me into a good sheep."
As he finished praying, he felt a peace come over him as he lay there.
A short while later he drifted off into sleep. He awoke to hear
children shouting his name. He tried to answer, but only a croak came
out. "Oh, dear," he thought, "They will never hear me!" The
voices faded away into the distance and he lost hope.
Saved in Time!
As Herbie lay there thinking that he was going to die, he suddenly
heard a scrabbling noise on the rocks behind him. "Oh, no," he
thought, "That sounds like a wild animal and it will get me."
He panicked and just as he thought that he was going to be eaten, the
smiling face of his leader appeared.
"I just felt I had to check-out these rocks," he said, "I knew that
you liked to climb anything that looks steep. And here you
are!" He carefully loosened Herbie's foot from the rock that
had trapped it and lifted Herbie out of the crevice. "Now,
let's look at your leg. H'm, it looks like a bad sprain so
I will have to carry you back to camp."
Phillip blew his whistle and soon all the other children came
scrambling up the rocks and crowded round Herbie. "You're
safe!" they cried, "We were so worried that you had been badly
hurt." Herbie frowned, "Worried?" I thought that you
would've been glad to see the end of me seeing I was so nasty to
you all!"
Showing Love and Concern:
They all laughed in relief and the boys gathered two long branches to
make a stretcher. "I need some jerseys to make a bed for
Herbie to lie on," said Phillip. They placed Herbie on the
improvised stretcher and four boys carried him carefully back to
camp. They laid him down and Phillip bound up his ankle with
a bandage.
"Here," said Mary, "I have found a stick that you can use as a crutch."
Herbie was amazed at their kindness and could not get over
the concern that they all showed to him. That night they all
gathered around the campfire to have their final sing-song.
Herbie thanked everybody for their help and said that he was sorry
for having been such a pig.
"You know," he said, "I thought that you would never find me and that
I was going to die out there." He then told them about the
black lamb, and how he had asked Jesus to make him into a good
sheep.
Phillip went to sleep that night with joy in his heart. "Thank
You Lord," he prayed, "You have answered my prayer and I can see
the change in all the children, especially in Herbie. They
have shown love and care for each other. This has really been
a successful hike and camp!"
Obedient Sheep:
We too can think about that black lamb who wilfully refused to go into
the fold. It reminds us of how we disobeyed God and did things
that were wrong. But, God loves us and sent His Son to die for
us, and now He is our Good Shepherd. Jesus wants to guide you
back into His Kingdom. You can become a good sheep by asking
Jesus into your life right now.
We can also learn the lesson that God wants to make our love increase
and overflow to each other. Allow God to pour His love into
your heart and then you will be a good and obedient sheep safe in the
fold, knowing the care and love of our Great Shepherd. And
then God's love will flow out to others around you as you learn to
show love, concern and care for them.
God bless.