Are you God?

Are you God?

This is one of my favourite illustrations which I have used to good effect speaking quiet slowly and with pauses against soft background music ('Cavatina' is good).

Some years ago when we had a group for young teenagers at the Salvation Army we heard the wartime story of a hungry boy and an American soldier in London.
Bombing raids had left parts of the capital in ruins and orphaned children were having to fend for themselves.
As the soldier was returning to barracks he noticed a ragged young boy staring into a doughnut shop.
The lad's mouth was watering as he saw the hot morsels pulled from the oven and placed in a warm glass holder.
But he had no money to buy.
The soldier's heart went out to him and he went in and bought a dozen of them. Then he took them out to the boy and gave them to him.
As he started to walk away, he felt a tug on his coat. The boy asked: "Mister, are you God?"
We are never more like God than when we give.
God is the ultimate giver. He gave his only Son, Jesus.

Members of the group, some of whom came from deprived backgrounds, were moved by the story and later asked for it again.