In Giving, We Receive

My friend Rev. Ray Woody, who was a retired pastor, once told me that during his ministry, on Sundays, he used to visit all the visitors to his church. One particular Sunday he had an unusual experience. The first family he visited said they found the church to be warm and friendly. They were excited to go back. However, at the second home he visited, a man answered the door said, “Pastor, I’ve got to tell you, that was the coldest church I’ve ever been in. No one welcomed me, no one talked to me.”

Same church, same Sunday.

When he told me this, Ray said, “Joe you know what I’ve found? In life, most people will meet me halfway. If I smile, they’ll smile back. If I put out my hand, they’ll put out theirs. If I initiate conversation, others will talk. If I want to get involved, I can.”

Have you noticed that when we care enough about something or someone to put our heart and your soul into it, it is rich and rewarding? Think about a job or a relationship. If we give only half our heart – we never really get to experience the fullness of what it could be.

This is true also with our faith, isn’t it? When we make time for prayer and worship, when we give and when we serve, our faith is most often alive and it is a resource we can draw on.

I pray today that the fullness of God’s peace would rest upon you. May you would know God’s love, forgiveness, and hope in the very deepest part of your being. And, may you respond with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.

Let us pray: You have blessed us so richly, O God. May we, in turn, be a blessing to others and to you. Amen.