If you read the Gospel Blog, then you may remember that I work with children with special needs, and this column is dedicated to the lessons that I have learned from those kids. 

One 12-year-old boy that I work with—let’s call him Jimmy—was digging through the various sports equipment in the trunk of my car to find something he wanted to work with that day, and he spotted a bag of sunflower seeds that was back there. 

He asked if he could have some while we work. I told him yes and to bring the bag of seeds along with us while we hit a ball between us with hockey sticks. He was very excited to munch on the seeds while doing our exercises. 

The bag was almost full when we started, and he initially enjoyed them one at a time. However, after a few minutes, he started taking them by the handful and was just spitting them out about as fast as he put them into his mouth—basically wasting them, without really consuming them. 

I did not really care about the waste, as he was really enjoying himself with the seeds. By the time we were finished with the session, most of the seeds were gone, and I told him that he could keep the rest of the bag for himself. 

At this proposition he initially became very excited, but then I could see the wheels turning in his head as a look of regret washed over his face. 

You see, he’d wasted almost the whole bag of seeds that used to be mine, but now it was his. 

He immediately went back to eating them one at a time.

I really don’t want to talk about Jimmy wasting something that wasn’t his—although there is probably a good lesson in there—but I wanted to point out the fact that once he “owned” the sunflower seeds, he was much more careful with them. 

How about you? 

Do you own the Church? Do you own your relationship with Jesus? 

If you’re not sure, then ask yourself how you treat your relationship with Jesus. Do you take your Christianity seriously, or could you just take it or leave it? 

Is Jesus precious to you? Do you take communion the way it is meant to be taken? How would you take communion if Jesus was passing it to you?

Just some food for thought. (Sunflower seeds for thought?)

P.S. Own the church. Own the Lord.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval

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