The Puppet

They came upstairs from the basement.
Two of my granddaughters were giggling as they came into the family room.
We’re going to have a puppet show, they said excitedly.
My oldest daughter had the puppet on her hand.

This is not an ordinary hand puppet.
This is the kind of puppet that has a metal rod attached to one of its hands.
My daughter positioned herself behind the loveseat.
My granddaughters sat near the fireplace to get a bird’s eye view.

I remember her, I said reminiscing about when the puppet arrived.
I told them that their aunt had bought her many years ago.
However, I named the wrong aunt.
In reality, it was my oldest daughter who bought the puppet.

I bought her, Mom, don’t you remember?
I wanted to do a puppet show for VBS.
Of course, it was this daughter, who saved her money to buy the puppet.
It was this daughter who wrote her own dialogue to explain the Gospel to young children.

What is her name? I asked my granddaughters.
Becky, they said in unison.
I watched their faces as they waited.
Within minutes, Becky appeared over the back of the loveseat.

The two little girls who just came up the stairs with the puppet in view, were mesmerized.
When Becky asked questions, they answered.
When Becky told them a story, they responded.
Becky was no longer a puppet with an arm moved by a metal pole; she was real.

I remember watching Kermit the Frog and a little girl as they sang the alphabet song.
A.B.C.D.E.F.G…
Every few letters, the little girl said, Cookie Monster.
She laughed so hard and Kermit scrunched his mouth up in frustration.

Finally, at the end of the song, Kermit started to walk away.
The little girl looked after him.
I love you, she said sweetly to Kermit.
I love you, too, Kermit said back to her, as she kissed the top of his head.

I never forgot that little girl.
I am certain that when she looked down, she saw Jim Henson.
She probably saw Henson with a metal pole attached to Kermit’s arm.
However, Kermit was real to her.

I saw in my granddaughters the same innocence.
The puppet they saw in the hand of their aunt was now the one to whom they were talking.
The lines blurred.
Their Aunt was behind the loveseat, unseen, but the puppet was in front of them.

Becky’s words were their aunt’s words.
Becky’s motions were controlled by the one whose hand manipulated the mouth.
Becky’s arms reached out with the help of a metal pole.
What was a toy in a closet moments before, was now holding a conversation with them.

To whom will you compare me or make me equal?
Who will you measure me with,
so that we should be like each other?
Those who pour out their bags of gold
and weigh out silver on scales—
they hire a goldsmith and he makes it into a god.
Then they kneel and bow down to it.
They lift it to their shoulder and bear it along;
they set it in its place, and there it stands;
it does not budge from its place.
They cry out to it but it doesn’t answer;
it saves no one from his trouble.
Remember this and be brave;
take it to heart, you transgressors!
Remember what happened long ago,
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and no one is like me. (Isaiah 46:5-9)

Idols were made out of wood or clay.
They needed to be carried around and they often toppled over.
They did not speak.
They were unable to help the people who made them.

The people saw the material from which the idol was made.
Some of their own cooking pots were made of the same thing.
Some of their carts were carved from the same wood.
How could they possibly think these idols could save them?

The lines were blurred.
They bought into a lie.
They were blinded to the truth.
They put their hope in the created, instead of the Creator.

We’re too smart for that!
We would never worship anything above God.
The One who needs no help is worthy of our praise; yet we worship lesser things.
Our hand makes the mouth of our idols move; the metal pole makes their arms reach out.

Not so with our mighty God.
He is our Creator.
He alone can save.
He alone is God and we worship Him.