God was the One with the camera yesterday at VBS. I worked hard to capture the great memories from VBS for our 5th grade class - the silly games, the fun songs, the new friendships, the great snacks, and the creative moments. However the eternal moments were not captured by my camera. I look forward to the day in heaven getting to look back at the snapshots of praying with three precious 5th grade girls to receive Christ as their Savior and Lord. Each one shared with watery eyes what it would mean to them to become a Christian- "It would mean everything to me"; "I see that being a Christian is fun"; and "I am worried about my mom and little sister and want to make sure I am a Christian."
Wow, it was such an honor to talk with these girls and lead them in a prayer of commitment to God. Those moments are what heaven longs for...eternal decisions. However I felt a little silly saying, "Now you know for sure that when you die, you can go to heaven." And therefore I gave more encouragement to the girls that becoming a Christian even impacts your life NOW. The more I grow as a Christian, the more I realize Christ has given us eternal salvation yet He wants us to make a difference in the fading world that we live in NOW.
The pictures I have of these new Christians will be a reminder of my calling to share about the mighty love of Christ to the world.
"He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." Hebrew 7:25
"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17
Everyone so looks forward to the big slide show of pictures tonight at our Family Night. We all watch with anticipation to see if we or our children were captured in a freeze frame. So many teachers and parents were also trying to take pictures to hold on to the memories of this week at Vacation Bible School.
But only God can capture those eternal pictures from this week. His camera crew was busy taking pictures of children praying to receive Christ, dreaming of becoming a missionary, giving of their saved coins for a missions project, growing in their knowledge of Jesus and the Bible, creating a craft to give to a friend, and learning to forgive classmates who make fun of them. Wow!! So we keep laboring in the fields knowing God might be capturing our shot for the final eternal slide show once we enter heaven.
Caroline Perez lives in Florence, South Carolina, where her camera is often focused on her husband and two preschool children.
Copyright 2009 by Caroline Perez.
Used by permission.
