| |
Thoughts for a Woman's Heart |
|
| |
encouragement in things that matter |
|
| |
Strangers
|
|
| |
Giving takes on a whole different perspective when you give to a stranger. You certainly don’t do it to get something back in return, because often the stranger will remain unknown even after the giving. Although you may gain some personal satisfaction in giving to a stranger, the usual reason you give is in response to a need. When our church sponsors a blood drive, it’s fun to be with your friends in the very unique setting of the "bloodmobile," but the reason we all show up is because we know a stranger somewhere, in the near future, will have a need for the blood we are able to give. Strangers keep other strangers alive when they donate a kidney; they feed, clothe, and shelter the victims of natural catastrophes when they pack crates of supplies to be transported into the stricken area; they assist search teams, donate Christmas gifts, write letters to service men and women overseas – all to meet very real needs.
God’s Word tells us that those who live their lives apart from Him are strangers. We are separated from any sense of relationship with Him – although we are known to Him, He is unknown to us. The grace, the love, and the hope, that are so ingrafted into that relationship are totally unknown to us as well. Strangers – separate, excluded, alone – and very needy. God was very aware though of our need. He always has been. Millenniums ago when Adam and Eve sinned and caused the original separation between man and God, God promised to provide for their need to be restored into a relationship with Him. But He thought too of the multiple millions of strangers who would walk the earth after Adam and Eve. The gift He gave far exceeds any gift ever given by a stranger. He gave, not things, and not even just blood, although certainly that was part of the gift, but to strangers who did not know Him, and many of whom would never even thank Him for His gift, He gave the only Son He ever had – the Son who was as much God as He was Himself. The Son He loved with all the perfections of love. The need was very real, and God gave in the only way that could meet the need. But, He does not want for us to remain strangers. When the gift is received, we are no longer excluded. We are no longer separated from the God who would give such an extraordinary gift. We are no longer alone, but we are in a relationship in which we can know the One who has given. He calls us His friends, and He calls us His children. He even says we can call Him, "Daddy."
|
|
| |
|
— Bev |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
