To Reflect...(30/07/13) Keeping What We Give
"He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor" (Salmos 112:9). ESV A story is told about Sadie Sieker, who served for many years taking care of children of missionaries in the Phillippines. Sadie loved books. Some of them she lent, but most of them she kept in a trunk under her bed. On one occasion, in the middle o f the night, Sadie heard a faint sound of rustling. After searching throughout the room, she discovered the noise came from her trunk. When she opened it, she found torn paper and dust. All her books that she had kept were destroyed by termites. Have we learned to serve the Lord generously? Have we offered to those who have little, that which the Lord has given us in abundance? Have we revealed Christ through attitudes of love? Or do our actions only prove that we are selfish, greedy and in different to those who are around us? The Apostle Paul said: "But test everything, hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). We can apply this verse to the words of the interview with Pope Francis: "I think it is absurd for a priest to ride in a luxury car while so many live in poverty. I think it also absurd to waste such a great amount of food while so many people have nothing to eat." And this has been the very truth in the world today. For the most part, our churches are concerned mainly with making money.... much money... and continue indifferent to the needs of so many who are around them. What use is it for me to accumulate treasures that cannot be taken with me to Heaven? To accumulate immense reserves in banks that I cannot spend till the end of my life? What do I gain if I have everything and do not have love? What good would it b e if I gain this whole world and hear the Lord say to me: "I don't know you"? What we give, we keep. What we accumulate, we lose. Give your love, your faith, your hope, and your spiritual trunk will be full when you meet God!
