who are those people?

“We are healed to help others. We are blessed to be a blessing. We are saved to serve, not to sit around and wait for heaven.”  ― Rick Warren

I drove home last evening in the middle of what some would call a winter storm.  We had maybe an inch of snow over the last 12 hours.  The ground, the air and even the roads where beautifully covered with the white fluffy snow our community was given today.

The day had been busy with many things going on, but all through the busy time my heart and mind were drawn to the needs of people around me.  Early in the morning the phone rang in the church office, and I heard the story of a man who is having trouble making ends me and needed food.  The day before I met a man who recently came out of prison and is desperately trying to stay clean and make something of himself.  He joined us at a good time.

The weather has turned from warm to cold, from fair to covered with snow.  It is cold, and there are people in need.  There are people who don’t have a place to live or a warm place to stay.  That bothers me, and we continue to work toward having a homeless shelter in our community.

Meeting needs is a big deal.  It is not about paying bills or preparing meals.  It is about helping people see their value.  When we serve others, we reassure them and tell them of their God given value.

Proverbs 21:26  NLT

Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give!

People who give to others understand that real worth is not in what is in the bank or hidden in your closet under lock and key.  What is important and has worth as people.

I challenge you to spend some time thinking through the quotes I am sharing today.  Maybe go on a trek through the Bible for the things that God says about our making a difference in the lives of people around us.  Our lives count for something when we begin to remind others that they count too. 

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” ― Anne Frank

“If you're not making someone else's life better, then you're wasting your time. Your life will become better by making other lives better.” ― Will Smith

May our lives add huge value to be people we encounter.  The people closest to us need to know they are important to God and to us.  The people we’ve never met before have to know they are not insignificant to us or to God.  We share that truth by living to serve others.

“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”  ― John Bunyan