Bickering, whining, squabbles… Selfishness can be clearly seen in little ones. Yet, there also can be moments of selflessness, kindness, compassion. Overall, you can get an idea of what kind of person this kid is growing to be.
Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright. – Proverbs 20:11.
I was impressed by the conduct and actions of a little girl this week. She lived long ago, but the purity of her heart has shone through centuries of history.
She was a slave girl.
Kidnapped when she was small.
Taken from her family, her town, her homeland.
She had to learn a new language and culture.
No one in this land worshipped the God she knew.
She was alone, and forced to serve the family of a rich, powerful commander.
If I were this little girl, I think I would hate the people who did this to me.
I wouldn’t wish any good upon them, or seek their well-being.
But that’s not what this little girl did.
We don’t know if they treated her well or poorly,
but she looked beyond her own situation and saw the suffering of her masters.
For all his wealth and military fame, her master was dying.
He had leprosy, an incurable disease.
The little girl did not rejoice at his calamity.
She didn’t smugly conclude that he got what he deserved.
Instead, she spoke to his wife with the clear, pure voice of a child,
“I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria!
Then he would cure him of his leprosy!”
Not only did this captive child have a heart of compassion,
She had a heart of faith.
She trusted that God would heal her master through the prophet.
What happened next is another testament to her character.
Her master listened to her.
He didn’t brush her aside or say that she’s ignorant.
He must have seen in this little girl such an upright heart,
He was persuaded that her God could help.
You can read the rest of the story in 2 Kings 5,
But I hope at least you take away a greater appreciation
for this little girl,
for the parents who taught her from a very young age,
and for the great God that she trusted.
I want my heart to be as big as this little girl’s:
full of compassion and faith.
