Investing in Heaven

One day after the church service, I observed a hand-off. The man didn’t know I saw him, and he would not have wanted me to have witnessed it. It was meant to be private.

No, it wasn’t drugs. The hand-off was a $20 bill. It was to another member of the church who had been going through a rough time. The “handee” was not wealthy. In fact, I think if he were measured on the American scale of prosperity, he would have ranked near the poverty level. I’ll never forget that.

Talking with my daughter one day I said, “I will never regret sharing our home, our food, and our lives with others. It was an investment.” Tom and I have always had a knack for hospitality. Often, we invited people to our homes for a meal. Mind you, our house wasn’t clean, and we were not wealthy, but people felt at home. One of our friends is really, really, clean. He eats pizza with a knife. His house is always immaculate. Once, I wrote an article for a small newspaper stating, “Some say you can eat off my floor. You can find a grape or a piece of lettuce.”

I asked my ultra-clean friend how he could come to my house and feel safe. He said it didn’t matter since it wasn’t his house. And he felt at home at ours. Hospitality didn’t cost us much because we had a charter fishing boat. We almost always had fresh fish. Add a few leftovers from my not-so-clean fridge, and a dish from other’s and presto—we had a feast!

We are not rich—at least by America’s standards, but we are rich in friends. We are rich in memories of great times watching football with others and sharing a meal. We are rich in that we have a choice of what we will eat or what we will wear.

I am grateful.

People have shared with us over the years. One day we received an envelope with a few hundred dollars in it since whoever gave it to us knew that the weather had been bad and we weren’t able to take charters out fishing.

People are generous with their time also. There are so many examples. I am sure you have several also. I would love to hear about them!

Here is another thought. Jesus said in Matthew 6:3-4 states, “But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

Here are a few suggestions for a generous start:
-Give a completely anonymous gift to someone. You could always use snail mail with no return address.
-Volunteer your time at a shelter or provide a meal to a foster family.
-Consider adopting a child from Compassion International. It is about $40 a month but it helps them buy school supplies and even basic clothing that their family may not be able to afford. If you have children, or grandchildren, involve them. It helps them to see the world from a larger
perspective.

Tell me about some of your experiences with generosity.