Pop Bottles
January 26
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down,
shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For
with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Luke 6:38
It was a hot Saturday afternoon, and the boys of Scout Troop 429 were on a
pop-bottle drive. They needed new pup tents. The torn and leaky World War II
leftovers just weren’t cutting it anymore, so they were in search of anyone who
would donate to their cause.
Coming to a place that appeared to need of a lot of yard work, the boys noticed several bottles lying by the back door. It looked as if they’d been discarded where they’d been finished.
Knocking, they were greeted by a gruff-voiced old man leaning on a cane. They explained why they were there and proposed that they be allowed to keep the bottles in exchange for mowing his lawn, saving him the trouble of cleanup. The old man thought a moment, rubbed his bald head, then smiled, saying, “Tell you what. If it’s okay with your parents, and you younguns would like to help me out a mite by cleaning things up and such around here, I’ll just buy each of you a tent myself, and you can have all the bottles you find.”
Wow, what an offer! With their father’s permission and the details ironed out, the boys spent the rest of that day cleaning off the porch and with a mower retrieved from the backyard shed, mowed the lawn, restoring the Jenkins place to its former charm. Per their agreement, they would tackle the windows and garage next week.
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What the boys hadn’t known before striking their bargain with Mr. Jenkins was
that his garage was stacked full of old soda bottles he’d never gotten around
to redeeming—over two thousand bottles at three cents apiece! What a deal
indeed! Willing to help Mr. Jenkins for the promise of only a few bottles, they
were rewarded beyond their wildest dreams.
Prayer
“Lord, we ask for your guidance. Teach us to care about
others, not for personal reward, but because it’s the right thing
to do. Lead us to those who are unable to help themselves
and use us to meet their needs. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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