Sharing

Early every morning, I sit in my favourite recliner chair, enjoying the warmth of our home, and look out the living room window to see beauty everywhere. A glass of fresh water sits on the table beside me. I know that when my meditation and prayer time is over, I will eat a healthy breakfast. I give thanks to God for the endless blessings in my life.

Over the past year, news stories have thundered out the plight of others in distant lands and here at home. We’ve heard about millions of refugees living in squalor in tent cities, desperate for clean water and a handful of rice. We’ve heard about the homeless wandering our cold streets, sleeping on hot air vents. The news has shown us the Philippines, with homes flattened or destroyed by flash floods, and people swept to their death.

The Bible tells us the story of King David, who had won his wars and settled down in his magnificent cedar palace surrounded by luxuries. King David looks out over the city and says to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” (2 Samuel 1:1)

God responds through Nathan with “Your offspring will build a temple for me. Your calling is to be a great and compassionate leader for my people.”

King David’s experience speaks to us as we sit in the luxury of our secure and warm home. God calls you and I to care for God’s people. We cannot remove all the poverty, homelessness, and pain in this world, but we can provide food for at least one person, one night’s lodging at the local shelter for the homeless, one tent or one blanket for a refugee in a far off land. Out of our abundance we can do something. We are called by God to bring hope to this world through sharing our blessings. That’s our job. Let’s do it.