This day in March always takes me back in time and makes me laugh at the memory of being a seventh grader. In my mind's eye, I can still see the old gym where we gathered when we were not in class. Those who were brave enough could take their shoes off and dance to the 1950s music in their socks on the gym floor. A sock hop like that naturally separated the boys from the girls. My seventh-grade friends and I were not brave enough to dance, so it seemed that mostly eighth-grade girls took to the floor. With unruly brown hair and teeth too big for my face, I felt so awkward, towering over most boys. Many of us just enjoyed watching the boys do hilarious things.

One day that March, my good friend and I went to the five-and-dime store, which had an impressive display of St. Patrick's Day items. There, we hatched what we thought was a brilliant plan. We had our heads together for several days leading up to this grand celebration, dreaming of the attention that we would receive with our gaudy getup. We planned just when to come in, how to blow our party horns, and just the right place to be seen. But the one thing that we didn't do was to check the calendar: March 17th fell on a Saturday that year! Suddenly, our shiny hats lost their beauty, no neckties would we wear, and the silver and green party horns seemed to mock us with their obnoxious sound. There we were, once again, just plain ole us, with no chance of catching the attention of the elusive males.

I revisited this time in my life as I thought of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who commanded everyone's attention by building a grand statue. The Bible doesn't say what it portrayed, but it stood 90 feet tall and nine feet wide and was made of gold.

Daniel 3:4-6 – Then a herald shouted out, "People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king's command! When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue. Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace." (NLT)

Can you imagine the ego boost that the self-absorbed king got when everybody who was anybody bowed to his gaudy statue? God's people refused to bow, but He saved them when they were thrown in the fiery furnace.

Nebuchadnezzar was able to command everyone's attention and worship. My friends and I wanted the boys to notice us in our gaudy attire. But praise God, we don't have to wear a gaudy green hat to get God's attention. He loves us dearly and has great plans for our sins to be forgiven, and for us to be conformed to the image of His Son and to be considered one of many brothers and sisters in Christ. Could we ask for anything more?

If inwardly, we are like Christ, then outwardly, we need not be anything else. Yeah! Green was never my colour!

Prayer: Precious Lord, thank You that You can make us special just like You want us. May we never bow to anyone but You! Amen.

Forward this devotional     Share on Facebook

About the author:

Jeanie Nihiser <jnihiserj@gmail.com>
Geneseo, New York, USA
Send your feedback to the author