"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
When I first became the principal of St. Matthew Lutheran School, the white H.O.M.E. next to the parking lot was designated as the "Teacherage", and it was always part of the compensation package offered to every St. Matthew principal. This house offered a multitude of benefits and blessings to my family, such as being close to home when I worked, no traffic congestion to deal with during my walking commute across the parking lot, having an automatic wake-up call when the garbage was picked up at 5:30 a.m., and not having to worry about finding a parking spot for church on Sundays! In addition, my children greatly benefited from the friendships and coaching of the four extremely athletic Pastor's sons that lived next door. As a result, I have always attributed my boys' athletic skills to these early next-door mentors.
One day when the neighbors were gone, my oldest son, Josh, had to resort to using his six-year-old brother, Justin, to serve as his catcher while he practiced his pitching skills. I believe that I was standing in the kitchen when I was startled by the sound of smashing glass. I immediately looked out the window to see two little boys with their mouths wide open, standing perfectly motionless as if in a state of shock, and staring in the direction of a broken basement window. When they noticed me, Justin very slowly raised his finger and pointed to his older brother to indicate who was the guilty party and who was the innocent victim of circumstances.
Since the teacherage was technically not our home, we had to notify the Board of Properties that the window had been broken and of our intentions to have it fixed. Since it is an old home, the glass had to be custom made to fit that particular window. My third grader had no ability to pay this debt, but his loving father came to the rescue and paid the bill in full on his behalf.
During this season of Lent, we too are reminded of our brokenness that is a result of our sinful nature. Just as Josh
could not fix the broken window or pay for the damage caused by his mistake on his own, we too need someone to intervene on our behalf for the sinful damage in our lives. Just as Josh's dad came to his rescue, our Heavenly Father sent Jesus to be our rescuer and pay the debt of our sin by going to the cross.
It is our prayer that this Easter, you truly experience joy and freedom knowing that your debt has been paid in full and your sins have been forgiven.
He is risen, He is risen indeed!
Happy Easter,
Mrs. Palka
P.S. The rest of the story.... Two weeks after the window was fixed, Josh broke that same window again. At that time, Josh learned a very important lesson; his Heavenly Father is much more forgiving than his earthly father, who forbade him from pitching in the yard for the rest of his life! Being proactive, Ken also boarded up the window with a wooden beam, which remained there until a few weeks before we actually moved from that house!