“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
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