The Cost Jesus Requires

Had a bit of a meltdown today. I went over to Daddy's house to fold laundry. My mind kept screaming, "Momma, you should be doing this!" I guess it was because I was folding the sheets she last slept on before going to the hospital. I think the cry did me good, though.

I watched an inspiring movie about Mother Teresa today. It made me want to sell all my possessions and move to India. She was so selfless and had such an awesome relationship with God. She would see hungry, thirsty people in the streets and it would turn out that she was giving God drink and food--awesome! I wonder if I've ever done that. I did write a poem in the front of a Bible once and gave it to a homeless man along with two bags of groceries--I never saw him begging again. I buy beggars on the street lunch, but is that enough? A friend of mine cooks lunch for about twenty homeless people everyday--that is sacrifice.

I need to do more. I want to do more. I want people to see love in me. I want them to know how much they are cherished by the Savior by what I do for them as His earthly tool. I know it's a small thing, but I try to look the homeless in the eye and smile. I pray they see Christ.

The Lord says in Isaiah 58:7 "to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--when you see the naked to clothe him..." These are sacrifices God finds pleasing. Then, among other things, our healing will appear quickly, THEN you will call and the Lord will hear.

Dear Christian Friend, does it seem sometimes God is not answering your prayers? Have you repented of sin, but still no answer? There are many reasons why this may be so, but one of them could very well be not so much selfishness as just not seeing the desperate need of those around us. Oblivion. Living in your busy world, blind to the hurt and pain and suffering running so rampantly at your feet.

We need to perform selfless acts--or as the popular saying today goes, "Random acts of kindness." It's true. It's a Biblical principle. Christians ought to be the first in line to buy a meal for a corner beggar. To offer our umbrellas to the man standing at the bus stop waiting in the rain. To hold the door for the elderly couple coming in the restaurant--and letting them get ahead of you in line. To offer the young mother at Wal-mart a dime when she says she's short or offer to take her empty cart to the buggy collection place. To pay for someone's meal in a restaurant when you haven't the slighest idea who they are. So what if they can afford to buy you dinner? It's the act of kindness. People go home and think about these things. Hopefully, their pondering leads them straight to Jesus.

And, if you don't want to do any of those things, smiling won't cost you and it's universal. Let your eyes twinkle and your nose crinkle with the sheer joy of knowing Jesus and passing His love on to someone else.