The next week when the kids arrived at the campfire place, there was no fire! Once again Dave took the kids to the van, they got in and Dave drove them away from the camp. The kids were excited, they thought they were going to look at more Christmas decorations and that was so much fun last time that they did it! This time was different, Dave did not drive down the side streets, he did not search for decorated houses, he did not drive slowly, and he did not point out the various decorations on the houses.
Instead, Dave drove up to a large building and parked in the parking lot. Dave told them that this was a home where many older people lived. They were not able to go out, and many of them did not have any relatives that lived nearby. Christmas is a very lonely time for many of the people that live in this house. Dave told the kids that they were going to bring some joy into the lives of these people by singing Christmas songs to them!
The kids were not too sure about this idea! They did not feel comfortable singing in front of strangers. Dave encouraged them not to be shy, but to sing their best, and smile! The kids quietly followed Dave into the home, and they went into a large room where the people were just finishing their evening meal. One of the workers announced that Christmas Carolers were here, and the old people were very excited! Dave started in with Joy to the World! Most of the kids just stood there, and Dave was mostly doing a solo. The old people loved the song, and they applauded. On the next song, some of the kids sang along quietly. After singing a bunch of songs, Dave said they had to move on because they had several more places where they were going to sing.
The next place they stopped was the home of an old woman who was by herself at Christmas. Her husband had died several years ago, so she was lonely and missing him. When Dave knocked at the door, the old woman came to the door, but did not open the door. She yelled, “Just a minute until I put in my teeth!” So, Dave and the kids had to stand on the porch and wait for her to put in her teeth. Dave quietly told the kids that this same thing had happened last year. The kids tried not to laugh, but it was funny! At least they were all smiling when the woman finally opened the door and let them in the house. They sang several songs for her, and she had the biggest smile on her face (and her teeth looked great). When they were done singing, she brought out a tray fully of cookies, and they all got to eat cookies and spend a little more time with the old woman.
When they were in the van, one of the kids said to Dave, “I never knew it could be so much fun singing for old people. It gives them such happiness!” Dave told the kids that they were not just singing for old people, they were really singing for Jesus! Dave stopped at a park and opened his Bible and read to the group.
In the Bible in Matthew 25:34-40 Jesus says:
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited Me into your home. I was naked, and you gave Me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for Me. I was in prison, and you visited Me.’ Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? Or a stranger and show You hospitality? Or naked and give You clothing? When did we ever see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me?’”
Dave told the kids that they needed to be very careful to understand what Jesus was saying. We cannot get to heaven by doing good works, we only can get to heaven my believing in Jesus and asking Him to forgive our sins, come into our life, and take control. After you have Jesus in your life, then whenever you do something good to help others or bring some happiness into their life, it is like you are doing it for Jesus Himself, and when we do get to heaven, we will be rewarded for these acts of kindness that we did after we accepted Jesus into our life. Showing kindness to others is something that we should do all the time, not just at Christmas
The kids thought about this, and at the rest of their stops that night they sang for the old people at the top of the voices because they were singing for Jesus Himself.