This past Sunday morning, I wanted to show a card trick for the Children's sermon. I had time before the early worship service, so I jumped in my car and ran up to Walgreen's. I asked the young guy behind the counter if they had any playing cards. With a little help from the store manager, we were able to find them. When I placed the cards on the counter to pay, the young man behind the counter said, "It must be nice to play cards for a living." (It was 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning and I was wearing my tie and a dress shirt, so I guess I must have looked like someone who needed to play cards for a living.) I laughed and told him I was a preacher and I needed them for my Children's sermon in just a few minutes.

 He looked at me kind of quizzically and said, "So, what's the good word?" I thought about my sermon for the day and tried to sum it up in one sentence: "When we try to keep our life and our gifts to ourselves, we end up losing it all. But if we share them with others, we end up getting it all back." He then asked, "What do you mean by sharing?" I tried again, "Sharing our lives and God's love by how we act with kindness toward one another - something like that." He smiled. That answer seemed to make more sense. I asked him his name. He pointed to his name tag and said, "Mitch." I shook his hand and told him mine. He said he hoped I have a blessed day. I told him I hoped he had a good day, as well.
 
When I left, I found myself thinking about how here was someone who wanted to know "the good news" - he was asking for it! So often it is hard to get anyone to listen to the good news, but here was someone who really wanted to know the good news. I hope what I said was what he needed to hear that day.

Prayer for Today
 
Loving God, help us to pay attention this day for the opportunity to share your good news with someone we meet - either by what we do or what we say. And help us to do it in the right way. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.