I loved our children’s church message recently by staff member Greg Hartnett. His teaching was about the game Bigger and Better, which interfaced with recent thoughts on a favorite Bible character, the Prophetess Anna.
Greg told the children (and eavesdropping adults) that the game worked by asking strangers to trade objects. For example, he and his friends once started out with a packet of ketchup, knocked on a stranger’s door and asked if they could trade for something bigger and better. They received a can of soup. Then, the group kept knocking on numerous doors until they finally stopped with a pair of skis. Greg said once his friend traded up to an old car. You get the idea.
Paper Clip to House
I looked up Bigger and Better on Wikipedia and discovered Canadian Kyle MacDonald. In 2005, this blogger played the game for a year. He began with a red paperclip and ended up with a house!
Kyle MacDonald’s house that he received in 2005 by playing Bigger and Better (courtesy of Wikipedia).
Anna’s Bigger and Better
The potential of Bigger and Better reminded me of Anna the Prophetess, who witnessed baby Jesus in the temple and immediately proclaimed this little guy was the real deal Messiah.
Scant information about Anna in Luke 2 revealed she was only married seven years, implying she was a young widow. Of course, her options were limited at that time, but she decided to remain single and prayed night and day in the temple. If she was always around, I imagine all the temple regulars knew Anna. Surely many women and children sought her counsel and blessings. There were countless prayers. When the Holy Family finally arrived, she was 84. With old, wonderful Simeon, she beheld the salvation of the world, not just for her people and time, but for all generations. It was the bigger and better.
Anna as Mentor
The painting of Anna above by artist Mary Lou Sleevi is special to me because it depicts an old, praying woman filled with joy in receiving the fulfillment of God’s promises to her. What a prayer mentor she was! She never gave up knocking for the bigger and better and finally was rewarded.
Our 2019 is almost 1/12th of the way over. Time flies like a comet, but it’s not too late to take that ketchup packet and start trading bigger and better. It might take a stretchy faith, but who knows what you will end up with when the game is over.
Further reading:
Wikipedia’s timeline for Kyle MacDonald’s bigger and better trades in 2005 can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_red_paperclip
Another great story on Bigger and Better comes from Bob Goff at: https://www.faithgateway.com/faith-game-bigger-better/#.XEegYi2ZO7M