Day Thirteen
Charitable - Benevolent
Proverbs 31:20...She opens her hands to the poor, yes, she reaches out her filled hands to the needy [whether in body, mind or spirit]...
Acts 10:1-4...Now [living] at Caesarea there was a man whose name was Cornelius, a centurion (captain) of what was known as the Italian Regiment.
A devout man who venerated God and treated Him with reverential obedience, as did all his household, and he gave much alms to the people and prayed continually to God.
About the ninth hour (about 3:00 p.m.) of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God entering and saying to him, Cornelius.
And he, gazing intently at him, became frightened and said, What is it Lord? And the angel said to him, Your prayers and your [generous] gifts to the poor have come up [as a sacrifice] to God and have been remembered by Him.
Acts 20:35b...it is more blessed (make one happier and more to be envied) to give than to receive.
When we see the words, charitable and benevolent, what comes to mind more often than not, is giving money. The examples of the Proverbs 31 woman and of Cornelius in the book of Acts, speaks of giving to the poor. The woman "reaches out full hands" to the needy and Cornelius's prayers and gifts came up before God as a sacrifice. But this type of giving did not come from a sense of duty; it came from having an open, yielded heart to the direction of the Lord and a generous 'giving' of themselves.
As I mentioned in last week's devotional Paul and I travel quite a bit. His job requires us to move approximately once every year. At times, it can be quite challenging to work out all the details of relocating to an area that we have never been before. We also travel with our two cats. They do not enjoy the disruption of moving about, but once we get settled in, they are fine. On the other hand, we have had the chance to see different parts of the country, experience different cultures and meet some very interesting people. Through these travels, the Lord has taught us some very valuable lessons about fellowship...
The Gospel of Luke says the following...Give and [gifts] will be give to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you...(Luke 6:38). In all the years that Paul and I have attended church, we were ones who generally stayed in our comfort zones. We invited people over for dinner or dessert, and would play cards or visit and talk, but it was typically with people that we knew and were comfortable with. We would say hi once in a while to someone new, or shake hands with those sitting around us at the Pastor's direction during the church service, but after all, what were the Sunday greeters for? If we went out to dinner on Sunday, or for coffee after church on Sunday night, it was always with those that we knew. But we never thought to reach out to the newcomer and to those we didn't know; nor was any effort made on our part to make them feel welcome.
When we first began our travels, I looked forward to meeting and fellowshipping with believers in new cities. We would get settled in and start looking for a church immediately. But now, the shoe was on the other foot, so to speak. Many times, instead of being welcomed, we were ignored. Paul and I attended a church for three months and the only person who talked to us was an usher. We would sit, waiting for the service to start and oftentimes, people stood right in front of us, talking and visiting and making their plans. And we were overlooked. I have actually walked up to people and asked, "Are you friendly?" While visiting another church, a particular man walked by, stopped right in front of us, and while looking at us, actually grunted a noise, then walked on, talking to those he knew.
We have also visited churches (a few) and were warmly welcomed. Our church in Chicago was such a place. We have never, to this day, met a people who were more loving and accepting. And we still keep in contact by email and phone calls with some of them. However, the majority of our experiences have been that of being ignored and generally disregarded. What's more, in the years that we've been traveling, we have been invited to 'fellowship' in someone's home, one time! What a valuable lesson.
You know, you can travel across the roads of America and see truckers nodding to other truckers. You will see motorcycle riders raising an arm to another rider in a show of kinship and having something in common. You can also see bus drivers waving to each other. Yet in many churches across this nation, where we have the kinship of the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts, people walk in and out of our lives and how to we respond? Do we leave it up to the Sunday morning greeters? Romans 12:12 states...contribute to the needs of God's people [sharing in the necessities of the saints]; pursue the practice of hospitality. Hmm, pursue the practice of hospitality! Giving isn't always about money and receiving back isn't always about money. It is also about allowing our hearts to be open so that God can flow through us to meet the needs of those around us, whatever that need is. Sometimes, a person would just like to chat over a cup of coffee and enjoy some fellowship. And other times, there are very specific needs. Pursue the practice of hospitality! Oh how we need to get this into our hearts.
In addition, giving of ourselves is not inclusive to newcomers or the poor, but to whomever the Lord leads us to. And I don't think the Father's priority is our comfort zone. One of the biggest challenges that Paul and I face is loneliness. The lesson learned is that comfort zones usually revolves around self focus; the lesson learned is that the Lord has provided everything we need, even in times of loneliness; the lesson learned is that I am not so self focused any more, but I look at people differently, learning to ask the Lord, "Is there anything You can me to do here?" Interestingly enough, when the scripture says to 'pursue the practice of hospitality', it does not refer to the Sunday morning greeters or the class for newcomers. It refers to us! What a valuable lesson...
Galatians 6:10...So then, as occasion and opportunity open up to us, let us do good [morally] to all people [not only being useful or profitable to them, but doing also what is good for their spiritual good and advantage]. Be mindful to be a blessing, especially to those of the household of faith [those who belong to God's family with you, the believers].
A hearts' cry...Father, I ask to be a blessing to others...