Son-Burned

The other day, I spent some time out in the sun without sunscreen. Being the pigmentation-challenged individual that I am, I got a bit of a sunburn. Nothing too serious, but it made me think. I ended up turning it into a junior church lesson.

By the time Sunday got here, I wasn't noticeably sunburned. So I found a picture to show the kids of someone who had a sunburn on his neck. Give me brownie points for not using pictures of sunburned people in their bikinis. Anyway, I asked the kids what it was. Naturally, they were able to tell me it was a sunburn.

A sunburn is so visible. You do not have to ask someone who has a sunburn if he had been out in the sun. Okay, you could ask, but the person may respond with a sarcastic answer. A person with a sunburn has obviously spent time out in the sun. It is evident. It leaves a mark for all to see.

I then asked the kids if the world would be able to tell if we had spent time with the Son. Is is visible in our lives? Does it leave a mark on our lives? It should. We should be able to show the world our Son-Burn. They should be able to tell, without asking us, that we have spent time in the presence of God.

There was more to the lesson, such as one way to show the world our Son-Burn is how we believers treat each other. These points were not so much aimed at the children as they were at myself.

Lately, I seriously doubt people would be able to tell I had a Son-Burn. Maybe they would see a hint of pink, but not a full fledged burn. I have allowed myself to center my thoughts on what all I need to get done for me. I have allowed myself to excuse myself from ministering to others because I was tired, or more accurately, tired of ministering to the same ones over and over.  My selfishness acted like a SPF 100 and protected me from getting a nice Son-Burn.

I am going to try to see what kind of Son-Burn I can get.