Dandelions on the Altar

written by a man in my church:

Picture a large and lovely church sanctuary. In that sanctuary you find a big altar. On it are 2 big candles on each side, one of those big Bibles you could make into a coffee table by itself, four golden plates to gather all the money that comes in on a Sunday, and of course the cross; made from black walnut, it stands 3 feet tall on the altar.
And on most Sunday mornings you find flowers. On this morning there is a bouquet of big colorful blooms of many shapes and sizes. It is fit for a king. The reason the flowers are there is to honor a member that had given a very large gift of money to the church.
But if you look even closer there off to the side, rapped in tin foil, you find about 10 dandelions. They were put there by a 5 year-old to honor his mom for being the one person he can always count on to help him in times of need, smile with him in times of fun, and teach him what to do to become a child of God.
Now you might say that the fine bouquet of great value should not have to share altar space with 10 poor dandelions. You could have someone come along and remove the tinfoil flowers so that the large honor of God stands alone. But, let's stop right there and think for a minute: both groups of flowers were put on the altar to honor God. We all know that God looks at sin--no matter how big or how small--and finds it the same. Do you think He could look at acts of kindness in the same way?
No matter what it is giving: a gift of thousands of dollars or kissing the forehead of a five year-old boy to show him love and to let him know he is love by God just as much as the man with all the money. We are asked by God to step up and do something in our little part of this world to show people that Jesus loves all. It could be large or it could be small. Money for a new center to help troubled teens or maybe a kind word that saves one person from a mountain of hurt--it doesn't matter the size, but rather the heart with which the person does it.
So, put that tinfoil dandelion bouquet in a pretty little vase and let it stand proudly next to the other flowers. God made both the rose and the dandelion. To Him their value is the same.