SUGAR BABY -- Devotional for July 17, from "Good Seeds"

Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout, and looking for the consolation of Israel. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. He was in the temple when the parents brought in the child Jesus. The old man took the baby into his arms and blessed God, saying, “Now, Lord, let Thy bondservant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen Thy salvation.” (Luke 2:25-32)

I have hanging in my study a charcoal drawing of an old man playing an accordion facing a teenaged girl holding an electronic keyboard at her side. It’s a picture of the juxtapositioning of the generations, of age greeting youth, of the old-fashioned threatened by the new-fangled. A far more vibrant picture of that was painted for me today at our fine arts camp. A fellow staffer brought her 5 month old baby to camp. The thought didn’t occur to anyone that this infant may cramp the camp a little. In fact, just the opposite has transpired, as students and adults alike have accepted this new little “Sugar Baby” as just one more member of the Sugarloaf family. Not that little *Nalani has not stolen the affections and won the hearts of all who see her, for she is Sugarloaf’s newest and brightest little star! Now, I believe this is more than just the fascination of our race for all things bright and beautiful, all things tiny and innocent. (Are we not all suckers for fetchingly adorable little puppies and kittens?) But there is something more than that going on here, with this little one in our midst. I think we see her as representative of what this camp is all about: meeting, loving, teaching – and learning from – the next generation. Whenever we see a youngster it makes us think of the world he will face – not just how that world will treat him, but how it will be changed by him. This is true for each camper here, from the oldest teen down to this most precious little “Sugar-Baby.” But now I’m thinking of another brand new Baby who came on the scene many, many years ago. His parents brought him to church to be dedicated. When an old man saw Him he saw what we, too, must see: more than a mere representative of the next generation, but the true embodiment of mankind’s salvation. Maybe our little Nalani could be a *breath of heaven to us, reminding us of the Son of Heaven who came down long ago to bring new life to an old and dying world.