Flexibility

What does it mean to be flexible?
For the past couple weeks our young RA class has been planning a camping trip. Each Wednesday night class has been given the opportunity to do something fun, on their own. Some went to the movies, some went out to eat; but I thought why not take the money we were allowed to spend and buy some tents. I thought this would be good since it would be something we could use over and over. And so it began.
At the beginning of the church year I gave the boys their Camp Craft workbooks that are different for each grade. They have things in there like knots, fire, and first aid. Well, almost half of them did them and turned them in and should have gotten patches for the vests they should have gotten. (that’s another story I won’t go into) So, camping would be good for those that did the booklets to use what they learned and good for the ones that didn’t so they could see what they needed to have learned.
The camping trip would be planned out by the boys, with some helpful suggestions from me and Terry H. (the teachers of the class).
Well, the date was set and everything was planned out and smack, the date has to be changed. That wouldn’t be such a big deal if we weren’t so busy trying to do fundraisers for Fall Retreat. So when are we going camping?
This all sparked a good conversation with the boys about being flexible. Now I have to say I am not the most flexible person in the world. As a matter of fact I don’t think I am flexible at all, so this was good for me too.
Being flexible it when we do something we really don’t want to so to make things better for someone else, give and take. Flexible is not being a push over and I think that is worth mentioning.
One of the boys going into the 6th grade said he is flexible when his sisters want to play school. Oh my, can you relate to that. Its summer! Why do girls like to play school so much and they always have to be the teachers. He went on to say that he has to play the student, but he is always the worst behaved student till his sisters get tired of getting onto him and they quit. Well, that’s not being flexible. We talked that maybe being flexible there would be to play, but be the role of the principal or may the board of education, and work with the teachers.
Then we talked how some of us that are older thinks everything should go our way BECAUSE WE’RE OLDEST. That’s not being flexible. But some thought things should always go their way because they are the baby of the family and babies need to get their way. That’s not being flexible.
But how is God flexible with us. Is His love flexible? I say no because he loves his children despite the stupid things we do. Is his mercy flexible? No, he forgives us completely when we ask. How is God flexible?
I think God is the most flexible in that he bought us each and everyone a gift, and the cost of this gift was the life of His son Jesus Christ. I couldn’t imagine buying such an expensive gift and then saying you have the choice of accepting it or denying it. The closest I can come to even semi-understanding this is to say a man goes and buys the most expensive diamond ring known to man kind and there is a no return policy because he has a woman’s name engraved on it so he can’t get his money back. He presents this to the woman he loves and she says no and rejects the diamond ring. He is stuck with the ring and can’t return it to get his money back, but loves her anyway.
That is about what God has done for us. He bought us a gift of salvation threw his son Jesus Christ, but even though He didn’t have to, He gave us the choice to either accept it or not.
The gift is paid for.
We just have to take it.