Okay, this has been a load lifted. I was really feeling pressure to give this money away. What I realized though was that it really isn't so much about choosing the perfect person to give it to. It is about giving it away. All people need to be reminded of God's generosity and His special care for His creation. And this is a great way to remind people.
I make a couple of stops at the local goodwill store a year. It has always intrigued me about the feelings of those individuals who receive other people's junk. I've wondered how it must feel to receive people's discarded, unwanted, stuff (junk). Usually people throw their stuff all over the dock at the goodwill store. I don't know if you have seen this before, but usually there is a sign that says "no dumping when store is closed". And people usually pile up their stuff right in front of that sign. The employees have to cart all that stuff inside first thing in the morning because people can't wait to come back when the store is open.
A couple days ago I was passing by the goodwill store and saw a young man carrying some one's junk into the store. He looked like he would rather be doing something else. The thought occurred to me, "why not him?" Yeah, this guy could use some encouragement, he needs to know that some people want to give him something other than their junk. So the very next day I walked right up on the dock and introduced my self. "Hi I'm Jim!" "Hi I'm Jake", he said. I continued, "you are about to have the weirdest conversation of your life. Do you ever get tired getting other people's junk thrown at you?" "Yeah." "Wouldn't be nice if someone gave you something that was valuable, and it was yours to keep?" "Yeah!" I told him that I was a youth speaker that traveled around the country speaking to students at camps. And I was just at one in central Illinois. I told him the students there gave me $200 to give to someone that God said needed it. "We prayed about it, and I have been praying about it, and I believe God wants me to give it to you! God loves you Jake and this is His way of showing you how much He cares about you. Enjoy it Jake! God loves you!" "Really!" he said, "really!' I said. "This money is yours, not a gift to goodwill, but truly yours!" He watched me all the way to my car. I am assuming he was looking for the video cameras or Ashton Kutcher.
Way to go NWIL! You have been Christ to His creation. Great attitude!
Philippians 2:5 (The Message)
5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
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