by Barbara Latta
I love the Peanuts comic strip and cartoon movies.
They are some of my favorite holiday
classics. Snoopy never fails to amuse me
with his antics and who could not feel sorry for poor Charlie Brown? He gets
left out at parties and gets rocks for Trick or Treat. But he is resilient. He
finds a way to hang in there.
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| Lessons from Linus and The Great Pumpkin |
This week I again
watched, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie
Brown. Linus and his blanket spent the night in the pumpkin patch waiting
for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin. Shivering in the cold, he waits and waits
each year to no avail.
While I do love
Linus, I found some great lessons from his mis-beliefs:
He believed a lie – No amount of persuasion could
convince Linus there was no Great Pumpkin.
- Lesson – look for evidence before believing something. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life- the life was manifested and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifest to us – that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:1-3).
He convinced another person to believe
the lie with him –
Sally spent several hours in the pumpkin patch because of what Linus told her.
- Lesson – don’t believe something simply because another person does. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them (Ephesians 5:6-7 NKJV).
He got angry when he heard the truth - Charlie Brown told him believing in
the Great Pumpkin was a stupid thing to do.
- Lesson – If others will not believe the truth, we cannot change their heart. Only the Holy Spirit can. For the hearts of this people have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them (Matthews 13:15).
He was taken care of by his sister even
when he was wrong –
Lucy may act tough toward Linus at times, but when he was in trouble she rescued
him from the pumpkin patch and put him in his bed. She also collected candy for
him at Trick or Treat.
- Lesson – If others are not following the truth, we can still treat them kindly. Showing the love of God is the only way they will ever know the truth. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do (Colossians 3:12-13).
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| Linus believed a lie. |
Thankfully, when
the A Charlie Brown Christmas show
comes around, Linus is the one who shares the truth about the reason for the
season.
Maybe next year
he will stay out of the pumpkin patch and spend his time with the other kids
instead, but I doubt it. Good grief!
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TWEETABLES
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