A Wonderful Thing Happened To Me.

I had another wonderful thing happen to me.

I get together with my pastor to talk for an hour
or so, just about every Wednesday afternoon. A
couple of weeks ago, he mentioned that a family in
the church had had several financial disasters hit
them, and they were really in a bind. Ordinarily,
the church helps out people like that, and we have
a “Deacon's Fund” just for that purpose. But the
Deacon's Fund was empty.

At the worship service the following Sunday
morning, the pastor mentioned that somebody in the
church was in need, and that the Deacon's Fund was
empty, and to please contribute generously.

I guess he didn't say it strongly enough for me,
as I felt compelled to say more about it. So I
stood up in front of the congregation, and here's
(approximately) what I said:

Some of you may be thinking you are unable to
contribute to the Deacon's Fund at this time. In
Acts 2, we are told that “All who believed were
together and had all things in common; they would
sell their possessions and goods and distribute
the proceeds to all, as any had need.” So if
you're thinking that you can't contribute, have a
yard sale this week, and give the proceeds of the
sale to the Deacon's Fund. One of the early
writers about the church wrote that if there were
hungry people among them, and there just wasn't
enough to go around, that some would fast for
several days to feed the others. Think of that:
“I will go hungry so that you can eat.” Now, I'm
not asking anyone to go hungry, but if you were
planning to go shopping this week, and maybe buy
some steaks, buy rice and beans instead. And give
the money you save to the Deacon's Fund. If you
were planning to go to the movies this week, stay
home and watch TV instead, and give the money you
save to the Deacon's Fund.

After the service, tha pastor told me that there
was more given to the Deacon's Fund that day than
had ever been given to the fund in an entire year,
and that much more money was taken in than was
needed! If you have been reading this blog, you
already know that I want very much to be a
positive force in the world. I want very much to
help people whenever I can. While driving home
from church, I realized that God had just used me
to make a difference in the lives of a family in
need. I thought, “Thank You, Jesus! You know how
much I want to do good, and you just used me to do
good. Thank You!”

I am amazed that God chose me to do this task. I
don't consider myself to be anyone special, I
don't know why God would even notice me. I've
only been a Christian for a couple of years; I'm
sure there are people in the church who could have
said it better than I; I'm sure there are people
in the church who are more respected and
influential than I. But God chose me to do that
job! Wow! I suppose in a way that makes me feel
special, to think that God felt I was able to do
that, but it also makes me feel rather humble: If
God chose me to do that job, it means he noticed
me; it means he sees me. Uh-oh, God is watching
me! If he sees me, and knows me well enough to
choose me for that job, he must also know about
all my defects and faults, and everything I do
wrong. Ouch! But in spite of that, he still
pushed me to the front of the church and put those
words in my mouth. It's kind of humbling.

So, is there a moral to the story? I'm not sure.
Maybe the lesson is that we should remain open to
the possibility that God may choose any one of us
to do His work. Maybe the lesson is that we
shouldn't be afraid to stand up and speak, and
that sometimes we really can make a difference
when we do. Maybe the lesson is that if you point
out to Christians that there's a need, and give
some examples of how Christians met other people's
needs in the past, they will do what needs to be
done. Maybe it's all of these, and maybe it's
something that I'm missing entirely, and maybe
you'll see what the intended lesson is.