Hidden Berries

Psalm 119:9-12

John tried not to laugh, but when Mickey made a funny face, he just couldn’t hold it back. Mrs. DeSilva, the Sunday school teacher, gave them a stern look. The other kids in class grinned. No one was listening to the Bible story. They’d heard it before. Then Mrs. DeSilva said, “How many of you went berry picking last summer?” John, Mickey, and several others raised their hands. “Do you like fresh berry pie?” asked Mrs. DeSilva. Even John and Mickey were listening now.

“Well, one day last summer, I saw some blackberry bushes,” she said. “There didn’t seem to be many berries, but I got a container and began to pick them anyway. As I worked, I noticed a few berries hiding under some leaves,” continued Mrs. DeSilva. “I picked those, and then I saw even more berries hiding under some other leaves. It seemed that the closer I looked at those bushes, the more berries I found. There were so many more than I had seen at first!”

Mrs. DeSilva paused and smiled. “Did you know that hearing stories from the Bible is sometimes like picking berries? How could that be?” she asked.

Mickey answered, “At first when you listen to a Bible story, it seems like just a nice story. But maybe if you looked closer at the story and thought about it, you would find more interesting things there.”

“That’s right, Mickey,” Mrs. DeSilva agreed. “What kinds of things, John?”

“Well, things that will help you know God better and love him more.”

“That’s right,” answered Mrs. DeSilva. “Now, let’s go over today’s Bible story again and see how many ‘hidden berries,’ or interesting things about God, we can find.” This time as Mrs. DeSilva retold the story, John and Mickey listened in a different way. They wanted to see what new things they could discover.

How about You?

Do you get bored when you hear a Bible story you’ve heard often before? How could you listen differently? In this new year, see how many “hidden berries,” or new things, you can find in your Sunday school lessons.

Memorize:

“Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your law.” Psalm 119:18