There's Nothing Better than…

February, 2006

by: Jay Underwood

…Frozen custard blended with caramel and pretzels, a magnificent mid-western winter sunset over Grandpa’s pond, your little girl holding your hand, making a living doing what you love, hearing your spouse laugh at one of your jokes, listening to your kids use their imagination, standing in the middle of a stream contemplating your next cast, watching your toddler sleep, traveling to some far-off, exotic destination, staying at home playing Candyland, movies that lift your spirits, Rocky Road or $100,000 candy bars, a really hot Jacuzzi, floating boats down a stream, playing baseball, a warm and cozy house, coffee, the smell of fresh laundry, putting on warm jeans right out of the dryer, talking to an old friend you haven’t seen in years and picking up right where you left off, Disneyland, your Dad being proud of you, making Saturday morning pancakes with your mom, visiting your old elementary school and visiting with some of your teachers, tiramisu, shooting a double barrel and hitting both of the clay pigeons, the love of your pets, smores around a campfire, getting good grades, doing your best at something, garlic cheese bread at the Smokehouse, being told you “got the job,” the mountains, gently holding a wild rainbow trout and then letting him go, roller coasters, eggs and hash browns mixed with ketchup with crispy bacon on top of buttered toast with jelly, hearing your spouse and kids say “I love you.”

As the song goes, “these are a few of my favorite things,” and maybe these are some of your favorites too along with a host of other “precious moments” that I’m sure you have stored up in your memory, all with the status “there’s nothing better than…” But suppose for a minute that while you could have these wonderful things and many, many more during your life, at the end of it all you didn’t have the one thing you needed the most, a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. In other words, what’s the point of experiencing all of these incredible things only to find yourself in the pit of destruction at the end?

In the Jr. High these days, we have begun a study on the Attributes of God or to put it more simply, we are studying God; who He is and why we need to know Him. We want the youth to see that “there is nothing better than God” and in doing so be able to glorify God in all that they think, say and do (Rom 11:36; 1 Cor 10:31). In fact, we’ve even adopted this catchy phrase to be our mantra, our slogan. We began in January by introducing the Trinity and each member’s contribution to the glory of God and should be into His specific attributes by the time you read this. I want to encourage you, the parents, to ask your son or daughter what we’re doing or studying in Jr. High, engage them in dialogue about God and His attributes. To this end, every week the students will be given a hand out called Table Talk that will aid you in asking them questions and talking further with your Jr. Higher about what they are being taught. It is our desire in this ministry that all of our Jr. Higher’s will be able to say with a true heart, “There is nothing better than God.”