This is the worst piñata ever! On family campout, we were decided to have fun while celebrating Cinco de Mayo-that means piñatas. They were bought in Athens and then stuffed with candy and tiny oranges that are even better than candy.
Everyone gathered around for the fun. The little kids were going to go first. The first child swung and connected. The crowd tensed asking to themselves, "Will all the children get a chance?" The next child made serious contact. By the time each child had a chance to wack the thing a normal piñata would have given up its contents, but this piñata was stingy. It held on tightly.
Round after round, all the children chopped and hacked at the tormentor. The crowd drifted away and the children kept attacking. The cones came off, the paper was in tatters, but still the belly of the beast remained intact. Finally, nearing compete exhaustion a hit tore enough a hole that a few things came trickling out. The rope holder shook violently and most of the items slumped to the ground.
Many of the small oranges were squished. The stick had crushed them and they were sad as they hit the ground. I scurried around trying to find ones that were intact. I picked one up an offered it to a child. They stared at it in confusion. They wanted candy. They had not worked that hard for an orange! I ended up eating the orange and it was way better than candy, but the child did not think so.
What is the pot at the end of the rainbow that is worth working for worth sacrificing for? I'm fearful people spend a great deal of energy for all the wrong rewards. They work and struggle and at the end realize they have given themselves to things which don't bring the desired reward. Even worse, they work and struggle for a reward and when the best is offered, they select the substitute, the worse reward. Its not grades, but character. Its not wealth, but contentment. Its not power, but servanthood.
God invites you to the path of following Jesus. It is hard, but it leads to the best life. I might not be what the world is expecting, but it truly life itself.