1 John 3:16-17
This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
I confess. I have watched a few episodes of the reality cable TV show “Rich Kids of Beverly Hills”. I don’t think any television show in recent memory has disgusted me more than this one. The lives of young adults who literally have more money than sense are glorified for their spending sprees, drunken escapades, and incredible selfishness. Their foremost thought is how to spend money…and how to make themselves look and feel better (if only in their own over-inflated opinions) in the process!
If you read information from organizations like Compassion International (http://compassion.com) and the World Food Programme (http://wfp.org), you will learn that helping others really costs very little in the scheme of things. On the World Food Programme website, a statement reads…”It takes only $0.25 for the World Food Programme to give a hungry schoolchild a cup of nutritious food. $50 will feed a child at school for an entire year.” Many of us spend $50 on a single meal… or in less than 2 weeks’ worth of morning coffee on the way to work! But this issue goes deeper than just feeding the hungry or buying clothing and school supplies for a sponsored child in a foreign country. There are opportunities all around us to give to others…to share out of our abundance. And we are either ignoring them – or missing them completely.
When was the last time you passed up an opportunity to do something “fun” – or at least more self-satisfying - in order to spend some time with a person who was lonely, sick or injured? How often do you take time to hold a door open for someone else…allow the guy ahead of you to have the prime parking space…or invite someone to go ahead of you in the check-out line at the grocery store? Have you ever said, “I can buy myself XYZ…or I can make an anonymous donation to the elementary school to help children who don’t have adequate school supplies, a warm coat, or decent shoes. I can make a contribution to a reputable charity…or even the pastor’s emergency fund at my church. I can send a check to an organization like Hospice, to ensure that someone who is in the last stages of life has companionship and comfort. I can forego my morning cup of coffee for a month and buy food for the local animal shelter instead.
In truth, most of us might not have to “give up” anything in order to help. If we did have to skip a purchase or two, we would scarcely miss it. But still, this is not just about money. None of us can put a monetary value on what Jesus did for us. His sacrifice was far bigger than a measure in dollars and cents. And yet, in many ways, He demonstrated simple, everyday ways that we can help a brother in need. One of the greatest gifts we can give to others is our time…quite literally a second set of hands…an ear to listen to someone else’s burdens for a few minutes…or a hug. We can say to the stressed-out parents, “Let me sit with your kids while you take in a movie – or buy groceries in peace.” We can offer to run errands for an elderly person or someone who is sick or injured. We can leave a casserole on the doorstep of a busy working mother, a grieving widow or widower, or the kids who live down the street whose parents never seem to be around. We can invite someone to church – and offer to give them a ride (and maybe even feed them lunch afterward). We could knock on the door of a classmate and invite him/her to study with us. We could smile more and complain less!
Every day…in ways great and small…we have opportunities to live sacrificially for others. Sadly, many of us “turn a cold shoulder and do nothing”. And this scripture passage reminds us that doing this essentially makes God’s love disappear – at least in the minds and hearts of those in need. This is not who we are…or who we should be. We have been given the greatest gift of all in salvation through Jesus Christ. We are covered in His love, grace, mercy, and abundant blessings. Our responsibility is to “pay it forward” to others…to multiply the love of God through Jesus Christ as we meet the needs of His creatures.
How well are you doing? Are you offering compassion to others in Jesus’ name? Do you live generously – even sacrificially? Or are you a “When-is-it-my-turn-what’s-in-it-for-me?” kind of Christian? Your answer matters. How will you respond?
©2014 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment