Two sizes too small. That's Dr. Seuss's description of the Grinch's heart. It's just not big enough to include others, to open itself to give or experience love, at least at the beginning of the book.
So, what would you do to help the Grinch's heart grow? That's a fascinating question, one not original to me. Instead, it was posed recently to a class at Westfield Academy in Perry, Georgia. All the answers I saw were fantastic, especially considering the students are five or six years old. One answer, however, completely blew me away.
I didn't see all the responses, mind you, but here are at least some of them. One child would give the Grinch a cookie, while two others thought sitting down and actually sharing cookies with the old boy would help his expand his heart. Another was ready to drink tea with him. That kid's either British or Southern; if Southern, then I'm betting the tea will be sweet.
Two thought sports would do the trick. One figured tee ball was the ticket and the other wanted to shoot hoops with the Grinch. Another child figured the answer was to "play with him," I guess giving the Grinch the choice of activities. A pair of children wanted to read a book to the Grinch. Pick the right book and surely his heart will melt and grow.
Great ideas, don't you think? We all know that sitting at a table over food can bring people together. Doing something fun with another can be a tremendous building block in a relationship. These kids are not just smart, they're wise.
But here's the one that really got me:
OK, I'll admit it - I'm biased. Piper is six years old, the daughter of Hugh and Jenny Absher, and I can count on seeing Miss Piper just about every Sunday morning at Fort Valley Methodist Church. I'm blessed to be her pastor, and I'm mighty proud to be.
Piper, you see, knows the real root of the problem for the mean old Grinch. God is the fix he needs. Introduce Mr. Grinch to Jesus and you give him the chance to meet the true source of love itself. In fact, you plug him into love incarnate. Jesus can grow a person's heart like nothing, or no one, else can.
Yes, there's hope for the Grinches of the world. And Piper is ready to tell them all about Who that hope is. Are we ready to do the same?
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