A little girl was once standing on the edge of a crowd while her daddy was giving a testimony about what Jesus Christ had done in his life. He was testifying how the Lord had saved him and delivered him from his old lifestyle as a drunkard.
There was a cynic standing on the edge of the crowd that day who could not bear to hear anymore of this religious nonsense. So he yelled, “Why don’t you shut up and sit down, old man. You’re just dreaming.”
Soon, this skeptic felt a tug on his coat sleeve. He looked down and it was this little girl. She looked him square in the eyes and said, “Sir, that’s my daddy you’re talking about. You say that my daddy is a dreamer? Let me tell you about my daddy.
“My daddy used to be a drunkard and would come home at night and beat my mother. She would cry all through the night. And mister, we didn’t have good clothes to wear because my daddy spent all his money on whiskey. Sometimes I didn’t even have shoes to wear to school. But look at these shoes and look at this dress! My daddy has a good job now.”
Then pointing across the way, she said, “Do you see that woman smiling over there? That’s my mother. She doesn’t cry through the night anymore. Now she sings.”
Then the knockout punch. She said, “Jesus has changed my daddy. Jesus has changed our home. Mister, if my daddy is dreaming, please don’t wake him up.”
I have met some people who seem to feel that their sins have been a shock to God. Because of this, God could not possibly forgive them or change them. Every sinner needs to remember this one fact: You did not invent the sin you committed. Thousands have committed that same sin before you ever existed. God is not shocked by our sin. However, God is also not pleased with our sin. He knows that the sins we commit will ultimately hurt us and hurt others. He reaches out His hand to us and says, “Come unto me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). God forgives us. We need to receive that forgiveness in Jesus Christ and allow the Lord to transform our lives. Only God can produce a truly changed heart and life. It all comes down to our willingness to give up our self-seeking and to surrender to Him, then we can be like the “dreamer”!
