This morning I hosted our weekly Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting at the local Middle School. It was a great hour we spent together.

We talked, incidentally, about Luke 18:9-14:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The first thing we talked about was what a parable is. I explained to the kids, in really cool and neat Junior High language what a parable is. We then read verse 9 where we are told to whom and why Jesus told this parable. Read it again:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable.

I then asked the kids: So what is Jesus teaching us in this parable? One of the students, not missing a beat said: That Jesus doesn’t like tall people?

I just thought that, perhaps, with all the important things we discuss around here, you might appreciate some levity. The boy’s name is Thomas. He’s a catcher on my baseball team and has a cannon for an arm.

I encourage you to find ways to be involved with the youth of your community. They are blessed creatures who need to be loved by God’s people and encouraged in their daily walk.

Be blessed today in Christ.

jerry