Little Raccoon Was Little But He Was Brave

My boys and I used to have a favorite bedtime story – “Little Racoon”.

“Little raccoon was little but he was brave.”

It was about a baby raccoon who was learning his way in the world. He kept trying to go to the stream and catch crawfish. He would get up on this little log they used for a bridge and would glance in the water to check for crawfish but instead he would see, each time, a mean scary face staring back at him in the water.

Little raccoon would turn tail and run home to his mom and complain about the mean scary face in the creek. His mom listened for a couple of times and then she told him to go back and “smile at the face in the water”.

Little raccoon could not believe his furry little ears that his mom wanted him to smile at the mean and scary face. It was almost too much to ask of him.

Little raccoon was little but he was brave, so he snuck back to the creek. He climbed up onto the little log and looked down into the water. Sure enough that mean and scary face showed up to scare him again! He thought about running back home because he was frightened, but he remembered his moms words. Mom was smart, she knew things, so he mustered his strength and held his breath as he peered over the log.

Once he saw that face in the water scowling back at him, he smiled.

Wouldn’t you know it, that face in the water smiled too! Raccoon tried it again and he peeked over and smiled once more. That face in the water smiled too.

Little raccoon felt a sense of peace and calm come over him and he knew that face in the water was friendly. He continued on his way to the other side of the log to where the crawfish were and had a yummy and productive evening knowing that the face in the water was friendly.

I had a lady years ago tell me about going to church one day and there was a man she knew standing on the stairs outside of the building.

He met her and said, “Do you have the joy of the Lord in you?”

Kind of stunned at the question, she replied with a solid, “Yes.”

His response, “Well put it up it up on your face.”

We can laugh or giggle over this story but I think it is a reflection of many Christians. Little raccoon only saw his own reflection in the water, his unsmiling, unfriendly face in the water and it scared him.

What is it others outside of church see when they are looking at us? What reflects back to them on your face? What reflects back to them from our words? Do we scare others? Or is our face and words a sign of: Welcome? Friendly? Care? Concern?  Or Miserable, cranky, hard to live with? Are we complainers? Are we anxious and worried?

What do you reflect? We are supposed to be reflecting God.

God created mankind in “His” image – we are a reflection of who God is. I think at times our reflection gets "rippled" or "blurry" as others watch us and they get confused over who God really is by watching our lives.

When I look in the mirror, I see a reflection, a representation of myself in the mirror. It looks like me, moves like me, but at this point cannot think like me, talk like me,or be me. If there was a way I could give this reflection a part of my “spirit” then that reflection could start to think like me, act like me and talk like me. However – that reflection would not really be me.  

God giving us His Holy Spirit allows us the ability to connect with God, think like God, act like God with a huge warning – we do not become little gods!

It is dangerous thing to think we can start playing God because we have His spirit. Jesus while walking on earth always reflected back to His Father before doing anything.

“Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” John 5:19-20

God still holds the power of the reflection, His Spirit cannot be used for harm or selfish purposes. I am responsible for how I use God's Spirit and you are responsible for how you use it or do not use God's Spirit. Not using God's gift is like burying what God gave us in the sand and wondering why you do not get to be used like others do.

Your job, my job, is to introduce people to the guys who can do the miracles. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Period. I am God's reflection. God will then decide how or what He choses do to. It will always be something that brings God the glory, not the person or the reflection.

Introduce others to God, instruct them in the ways of God and then leave the rest to God!

The amount He uses you is absolutely and totally dependent on your amount of surrender.

“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24.

Yes this verse could be speaking just about money, but I believe what this verse illustrates on a deeper level – is our pride. A person who is full of themselves, rich in themselves and what they think they have, all the I can’s, the I will's, I must, I shall ….

The “I’s are dangerous. God uses us, we do not get to use “Him”.  The statement “I” takes God off of the throne. The power to do any of those things, including our spiritual gifts comes only from God Himself.

This surrender to God, this leading of God is because He loves us, He wants to partner with us – what an opportunity, what a gift! This should plaster a smile on your face when you step our the door today, thinking, “Oh God what do you want to do with me in my community today?”

That reflection will come back to you with others smiling and hopefully wondering what you are up to and ask. Remember little raccoon was little, and you might feel "can God really use me?" but little raccon was brave, and so are you! Believe and know that God wants to use you and smile back at the reflection in the mirror - He wants you!