Give
Last night's dinner cum watchnight service at Turf City was particularly meaningful. I really wouldn't have wanted to spend the last minutes of 2004 any other way. Had a sumptuous Chinese dinner with the PUNJers and the rest of the church, followed by Pastor Chris giving us a sermon, leading up to the countdown. He spoke on part of Luke 14.The part that really struck me was when he spoke about giving. Here's an excerpt:(Luke 14:12-14)
12Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Human hospitality isn't really kindness is it. As much as we give to people, the unspoken rule is that we want something in return. A simple lunch treat isn't really just a lunch treat. Deep inside we expect the favour to be reciprocated in future.
In the instance of the tsunami tragedy, it's really heartening to see people pouring in donations to the affected victims. Pastor Chris said, we sure don't expect the people in Aceh or Sri Lanka to pay back what we've given, but why does it take a disaster of such magnitude to happen, before we open our hearts to these people?
Of course we have to be discerning when we give to people. There're so many crooks out there that will take advantage of your generosity. Well, ultimately, God will judge those that have taken advantage of people.
After the service, had a little chat with Mavis and Sarah. They were going to accompany the BB an GB guys and gals back to BB HQ at Zion Road, where they would have some fellowship. Sarah was just saying how BB could be one area I could serve in ARPC, and I said I would pray about it.
2005 really holds a lot of promise. Friends, if you have any pain or troubles, as difficult as it is, leave it behind in the past year and look forward to a better year ahead.
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