Godly Potato Chips

Godly Potato Chips

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

When I was in first grade, I was often chosen to carry messages to the office or to other teachers. One day I was asked to carry a note to Mrs. Williams, who was known for spanking naughty students.

As I approached Mrs. Williams’s room, I heard the familiar wailing of a student being spanked. After the spanking, Mrs. Williams wrapped her big brown arms around the sobbing child. She whispered something to him as her other hand reached inside her desk drawer and brought out a big bag of potato chips. I let out a gasp as she gave the bag to the little fellow.

“What do you want?” Mrs. Williams asked loudly as I inched toward her desk and presented her with the note. She wrote something on it, and I was soon running back to my classroom. I was still shaking as I hurried home after school.

I ran into the house, yelling, “Mamma, Mamma, guess what they do at that school?”

Mamma’s eyes widened, waiting for me to continue.

“If you ask for a bag of potato chips there, they beat you.”

Mamma shook her head in disbelief and then began to laugh as I described the incident.

This experience often reminds me of our loving God, who sent Jesus to take our “spankings” so we would one day have eternal life. He takes our place in the principal’s office and accepts the punishment that should be ours. And because he does, we can be confident of having all the “potato chips” heaven can offer.

—Gwen Williams

Thank you, God, for loving a sinner like me and for your gift of eternal life. Amen.