Have you ever had to really stretch to do something generous and you thought that it really might be a little much, but because it was so important, you decided to do it anyway? You rationalized it saying that you could just do without something else because it was important to help someone in a meaningful way. And then as soon as you cheerfully handed over the money that you were giving, you were almost immediately handed a card from someone else that contained almost that exact same amount of money that you had just stretched to give away? And it was simply a gift!
Luke 6:38 indeed!
"Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."
And then imagine that you received a check in the mail the next day... randomly... with no note of explanation, simply marked, "gift" and it was written out for more than 10 times that amount?
I stare in wonder, shock, and amazement. I have no words...
When we got the first gift, I laughed a little bit about our family joke where we are just passing around a $20 bill. But with this second gift, I am deeply humbled. It is something we could not repay. It is just a gift... a free gift, and a much needed gift, but thanks just doesn't seem sufficient at all. And if I am this humbled and thankful for this gift, what about His free gift?
Romans 6:23 - "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
I feel very small right now. No matter what I do, no matter how fully I dedicate my life to serving Christ, no matter how much I give and love and sacrifice and praise, I can never, ever do anything that will make me worthy of this gift, let alone pay it back.
I have understood this concept in principle for a long time, but now that I am LIVING it in a very tangible way, it is so REAL. And because of this free gift, I feel more love for Christ and my fellow man than ever before. Because of that, I WANT to fully dedicate my life to serving Christ. I want to give and sacrifice and praise and serve the Lord with gladness every waking moment of my life. And I will do it with gladness of heart as the unprofitable servant.
My faith may finally be almost the size of a mustard seed.
Lord, increase our faith!
Lord, help me to never, ever forget!
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Someone told me that as a PW, you may not have everything per se, but you will never be without. God has richly blessed us this year, and continues to show us blessings through his servants.
ReplyDeleteSo true! Thank you for your comment!
ReplyDeleteSomeone sent us a surprise "gift" and asked that it not be repaid - this was when we had just found out that I was pregnant and Ben had yet to find a full time job (he was working temp jobs and delivering pizza) - I won't ever forget their generosity.
ReplyDeleteI've never forgotten when my father was enrolled in University studying to be a Methodist minister. They had scraped and saved to get the money for the next year's tuition, and thanks to an unexpected gift they were just 157 dollars short. My dad went in to the bursar's office to pay what he could and try to arrange to make payments on the remainder. The bursar looked up his account and told him that there had been an error on the bill. The actual tuition amount was exactly 157 dollars less than he'd been billed.
ReplyDeleteWhile my husband was unemployed for several months this year, several times we were surprised by gifts from unexpected sources. They also seemed to come just in the nick of time. We have pledged to pass on these kinds of blessings to others when we can. It really is amazing how the Lord provides and it's very humbling when it is through the generous hearts of his servants.
ReplyDeleteVery happy for you. Thankful that others appreciate your good example and have such trust in you. Thankful for the generosity and willingness to sacrifice own desires shown by all of you! Beautiful beautiful.
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