The Ice Cream Cone
By Brita Crouse
“This
is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an
atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
1
John 4:10 (NIV)
It was a hot and humid day; sunny
skies with the threat of a summer storm in the distance. I was in a different
country, surrounded by a group of chatty teenage girls, and I was feeling
overwhelmed by my new surroundings. But, mostly I was just feeling hot. We were
making the mile walk to a nearby pond to go swimming and escape the heat.
One bold girl in the group held my
hand and walked in step with me as we made our way toward the relief of the
cool water. I distracted myself from the temperature by asking her lots of
questions about her favorite things, to which she politely responded. We
discovered that one thing in particular we had in common was our love of ice
cream. A few minutes into our walk, she ran to another adult in the group and,
in her native language, insisted we make a stop at a local convenience store.
The girl ran inside the small shop and a few minutes later emerged with two
strawberry ice cream cones. One for her, one for me.
I was praying for a better
understanding of Christ’s sacrifice for us during this Easter season when God
brought to mind this sacrificial moment. This girl, who had very few material
possessions, used her limited spending money on me, a virtual stranger. She had
no idea what her impact on me would be. It was the best ice cream I’ve ever had
(and I really love ice cream). She demonstrated Christ’s love by giving, even
when she had very little to give. And it got me thinking, do I live my life
like this?
In my own little world, I collect
more “stuff” with each passing birthday and holiday. Rarely do I give away what
I have. It’s not very often I use what I can offer to bless others. There is
always an excuse, a reason why “I can’t.” There will always be excuses, but I
am wondering what life would look like if we put the excuses aside and lived
sacrificially?
Jesus showed us the greatest example
of sacrifice by giving up His life for us. In our lives, we have the chance to
tell others about this sacrifice, not only through words, but through our
actions as well.
Living sacrificially is not an easy
task, but there is much joy in it. Sometimes all it takes is sharing an ice
cream cone.
GOING DEEPER:
1.
When have you been shown sacrificial
love?
2.
How can you live more sacrificially?
FURTHER READING:
Brita recently moved back to her home state of Wisconsin where
she works as an Elementary School Counselor. She and her family have attended
Oakwood for 20 years.
