There was a little pot of yoghurt. K had asked for it first, and was happily dipping into it when B came out and her eagle eye caught sight of it. “Mei Mei! Mei Mei!” she went, signalling her demand for Mei Mei to get some.
Papa said, “Give her some, K.”
K: No, it’s mine. There’s no more already!
Papa: Give her some, and when there’s no more, I’ll give you some more.
That got me thinking. Isn’t this such a reflection of our conversations with God at times? We clutch tightly on what we have, because “there’s going to be no more already”, because we have to look after our own needs first, because there is not enough to share.
But the Father says, “Give. What you have is what I have given you. It wasn’t even yours in the first place. And when you run out, there’s plenty where that came from, sufficient for your needs.”
There WAS more yoghurt in the fridge. And we would have given K more if she asked, especially so if she had less because she gave away her portion. In fact, because she had given say three scoops away, she’d get another whole little pot, beyond what she had originally been given. Which might be too much for her, so she could then share that largesse again.
We could have taken a pot out of the fridge for Babs. But an important lesson in sharing would have been lost. A lesson I needed, myself.
Though we complain about how prices are rising, there are so many more out there who can cope with it less well than we can. So let’s not shy away from giving, thinking that we would then not have enough.
God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor 9:7) Not one who gives to get more, nor one who gives grudgingly. But one who gives out of the joy of having so, so much. One who gives because this world is not our home.
A lesson I shall try to put in practice this month.
Nicely put. Good one! 🙂
thanks! 🙂