Give a little bit...

GIVE A LITTLE BIT…

I bring breadstuffs to a housing project in the city every week.  My friends had their inner-city mission closed down to build a restaurant-condo complex.  They did not want to see the opportunity for blessing go to waste, so they asked me if I wanted to take it over.  Of course, there was no need for the bread at the decimated mission, so I was left with finding out exactly who to bless with the bread.  
My friends had mentioned a Native-American housing project in the city that could use the load of bread.  Unbelievably, my thoughts were that the Lord would certainly find me a place closer to my home.  The total drive one way is about sixty miles.  God would never inconvenience me like that, seeing as I’m doing a charitable work for Him, and doesn’t charity begin at home?
So, I started asking around for a place that could use my blessing closer to home.  I made at least half a dozen phone calls, and some of those phone calls were to umbrella organizations with ties to community.  Would you believe that not only could I not find someone who wanted it, but also that no one would even return my phone calls?  Unless there’s a prank phone call going around with fake donations, people surely should have called back I thought.  Heck, I thought they would leap at my generosity.
Finally, with three-day old bread heaped in my van, I made a run down to the city.  I couldn’t stomach the idea that the bread would go to waste, and truthfully, I need to go down there anyway.  I called a friend for support and took her with me to drop it off at the project.  I lugged in the Hefty bags, and my friend stopped to make small talk with an older lady standing in the food shelf area.  I had no desire to engage in conversation that frankly might guilt me into driving this bread down every week.
After a few moments my friend walked out of the room and I couldn’t resist asking her what was said.  My friend said, “Oh, the lady said she was down to her last two loaves for the food shelf and she had no idea what she was going to do next.”
I make that sixty-mile journey every week now.  And I do it with a smile on my face.

WHAT’S THE POINT?

What a point it truly is.  I don’t deny that taking the bread every week is partly an altruistic motion on my part.  I’m only human after all.  But there’s an even deeper, more primal feeling that tells me I’m in the center of God’s will on this one.  Combine that feeling with the closed doors from the other charities and a stranger who speaks God’s words to me and I get the impression that I’m doing what He wants.  
That feels good.  And sure, being generous is with your cash, your time, your available resources, but it’s even more than all that.
The true nature of being generous the way God intends it is with your being.  I feel great taking the bread, and I love getting that smile and thank you from the Salvation Army people when I drop a handful of change.  But do I drop a handful of change because it looks like more?  And am I disappointed when they don’t notice me?  We hardly have the option here of doing things with pure motive, but we sure can try.  Unless we try instead to give all of ourselves to Him.
I take the bread there now because I am doing what God wants me to do.  I am an extension of Jesus on the earth doing what He would have me do.  I enjoy doing it, but I also enjoy the knowledge that His children are being blessed with extra food each week.
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.  People don’t light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In that same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5.14-16)
When we give things other than our being, it is just an extension of our light.  Perhaps it’s a flashlight.  Our true lights are found and turned on when we give ourselves to Jesus entirely.  We need to be generous of ourselves in order for the world to see exactly who He is in the Kingdom of God on earth.  Our bodies and our being need to be turned over as vessels to the only One who can properly fill and pour out at the same time.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12.1)
One last thought.  I heard a passage of scripture last week that I can’t get out of my head; and as luck would have it, it ties in nicely here.
“And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness.” (Isaiah 58.10)
Oh, and if you’re reading this and you like to volunteer and be active for causes, but you don’t know Christ; consider this:  Here’s a way to be involved 100 percent without draining yourself.  Here’s a way to do something for a cause that’s truly greater than you are or anything else could ever be.  Here’s a way to have joy and fulfillment no matter the outcome.  Consider being a part of a movement that’s permanently changing humanity one person at a time.  Think about it.