Make 2014 a year of Sharing
“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his
love is made complete in us.” - 1 John
4:11-12
When he walked into the
room, there was a hush and stares. His
clothes were tattered and his shoes had holes in the toes. He hadn’t shaved in years and the small wool
hat on his head barely covered his greasy, tangled grey hair. Missing a front tooth, he smiled as he made his
way to the table in the front of the elegant room and began filling his plate
with food. The others gathered at this
extravagant ball stared in shock as he proceeded to move down the buffet line,
and shoved a few rolls into the pocket of his large oversized coat. He was wearing one glove, missing the tips on
a few of the fingers, and his other hand was covered in dirt and grease;
looking weathered from the elements outside.
With a plate in one hand and a styrofoam cup of coffee in the other, he
turned to walk back through the silent crowd towards the door. Murmuring and gasping could be heard around
the crowded room as his stench floated about the room. Many turned away and covered their nose with
their diamond adorned hands and handkerchiefs.
As he neared the door, he stopped and picked up a bulletin/flyer from
the small basket which read, “Wellington
Charity Ball for the Homeless - $1,000 donation per plate”. He looked at the plate in his hand and then
set it down. He turned to the group
behind him and said, “I’m sorry, I thought the food was for the homeless.” With that he stepped back out into the snow
covered street. How do we expressing our love to those in our sphere of influence? How are we impacting the lives of those around us to demonstrate the love of Christ, that was poured out for them as much as it was for you and I. We are blessed, despite how unfortunate we might feel at any given time. Consider that if you own a home, a car, a TV and have a computer on the Internet; your net worth places you in the top 15th percentile of the World’s wealthiest people. All around us are people suffering from job loss, health issues, tragedy, homelessness, abuse and so many other things. We are the body of Christ and it is our job to reach out to help those who are hungry, hurting and struggling. You and I are blessed for His purpose and to advance His kingdom. As Jesus stated in Matthew 25:34-40:
““Then
the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my
Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation
of the world. For I was hungry and you
gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I
was a stranger and you invited me in, I
needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in
prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then
the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you
in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go
to visit you?’ “The King will reply,
‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and
sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
In 2014 I am going to make a more conscious effort to
improve my efforts to love those around me as Christ loves me. It is at the top of my 2014 Resolution list,
won’t you also consider putting it on your list?
© Sondove Enterprises, 2014
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