MISFITS

I Was Just Thinking About – MISFITS.

A meaningful television special based upon the story and characters of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Island of Misfit Toys is worth watching. The misfit toys are cute but do not fit the stereotype usually associated with them. Part of the storyline includes toys that have been discarded because they have gotten old or worn and a child wants something new and more current. There is a multi-spotted elephant; a train with square wheels on the caboose; a Charlie in the box; two tin (rather than wooden) soldiers; a winged bear; a cowboy who rides an ostrich; etc.  These toys are isolated on an Island because they do not meet the expectation of those who have a special toy in mind and how it should function.

In many ways, this animated fictional story has a true-to-life sound and application to it. In the ebb and flow of life, some in the older generation are forgotten by the younger generation, ignored or shoved aside (at least, it seems as though that is the case). In a previous Blog, mention was made of “the least of these” and those who sense they are unneeded or unwanted. In such a time of sensing personal uselessness, some people despair and become overwhelmed with hopelessness. In a study by Psychology Today (2012), the following summary was written: “In the United States, nearly 30,000 people die by suicide each year, and the rate of attempted suicide is much higher. Worldwide, suicide claims more deaths than accidents, homicides, and war combined. And many cases of suicide, particularly in the elderly, go completely undetected and unaccounted...”

In a world that had become weary and hopeless, we read this following Biblical statement in Galatians 4:4-7 (NLT),  “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father’ Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.” 

When I was a child, a chorus sung in Sunday School was: “Jesus loves the little children; All the children of the world; Red and Yellow – Black and White, all are precious in His sight; Jesus loves the little children of the world." Peter expressed it differently when he wrote, I Peter 2:9-10, “You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” Never forget – you are not a Misfit. Hope and acceptance is available for you in Jesus Christ. You are special and precious in His sight. 

Prayerfully – consider these things with me!