I learned something this week that I wanted to share. I meet with some people regularly. We discuss our prayer concerns, our activities and where we've failed God. We have a script of sorts that we follow or try to follow. We share moments of triumph and weakness, times when we met Christ and when we've missed an opportunity to do good. We share insights when we learn something in our devotional readings or scripture. We talk through things that are hard to understand or difficult to accept.
One of the first lines of the script/format is: prayer, study, action. We report how we've done in the last week on all of these areas. This is where I've learned something new, or rather had my eyes opened to a new way of looking at things. One person shared that her action was ......(without being specific)....letting someone do for her. Now isn't that interesting?
Every action requires an equal and opposite reaction. (I think that's some rule I learned from science class - well, maybe almost learned!) In other words, I can't do something FOR someone if they don't allow me to do it. Now I know this isn't some hard and fast rule for servanthood but it does makes some sense. I think the reason I got this is because last weekend someone offered to help me to my car with my load of stuff. Instead of letting her help, I said, "no, thanks, I've got it", then loaded myself up and off the the car I went. She said, "Gee, thanks for letting me help you. Thanks for letting me do this thing for you." I think she was a little hurt. It made me think about service to and from others a little.
Then, this other person - in my group - said that her service for the week was letting someone do this thing for her. See how God works? He reinforced the lesson with a reminder, more elaborate lesson. Did I mention that the person who allowed the other to help was much younger than the person offering her help? Did I mention that I am younger than the person who offered to take my stuff to the car? Yes, I think these are relevant parts of the story.
In any event, I wanted to make it a point to myself that not only do I need to do for others, I need to let others do for me. A gift isn't a gift if it isn't received. Just like salvation. Unless we accept it, it is not a gift to us. It is only a gift for those who receive it. Jesus died for all of our sins. Some of us recognize that and accept the gift. Others are oblivious and don't care. They miss out on the gift. It is a two-way street. I've come to believe that there are givers and takers. Most of us are both but some are REALLY more one than the other. There needs to be a balance of both for life to work well. Sometimes we need to take (accept) and other times we need to give (serve). Consider this during your day.
God, I appreciate the gift of your lessons. Hopefully this is one that I accept and put into practice. Amen
One of the first lines of the script/format is: prayer, study, action. We report how we've done in the last week on all of these areas. This is where I've learned something new, or rather had my eyes opened to a new way of looking at things. One person shared that her action was ......(without being specific)....letting someone do for her. Now isn't that interesting?
Every action requires an equal and opposite reaction. (I think that's some rule I learned from science class - well, maybe almost learned!) In other words, I can't do something FOR someone if they don't allow me to do it. Now I know this isn't some hard and fast rule for servanthood but it does makes some sense. I think the reason I got this is because last weekend someone offered to help me to my car with my load of stuff. Instead of letting her help, I said, "no, thanks, I've got it", then loaded myself up and off the the car I went. She said, "Gee, thanks for letting me help you. Thanks for letting me do this thing for you." I think she was a little hurt. It made me think about service to and from others a little.
Then, this other person - in my group - said that her service for the week was letting someone do this thing for her. See how God works? He reinforced the lesson with a reminder, more elaborate lesson. Did I mention that the person who allowed the other to help was much younger than the person offering her help? Did I mention that I am younger than the person who offered to take my stuff to the car? Yes, I think these are relevant parts of the story.
In any event, I wanted to make it a point to myself that not only do I need to do for others, I need to let others do for me. A gift isn't a gift if it isn't received. Just like salvation. Unless we accept it, it is not a gift to us. It is only a gift for those who receive it. Jesus died for all of our sins. Some of us recognize that and accept the gift. Others are oblivious and don't care. They miss out on the gift. It is a two-way street. I've come to believe that there are givers and takers. Most of us are both but some are REALLY more one than the other. There needs to be a balance of both for life to work well. Sometimes we need to take (accept) and other times we need to give (serve). Consider this during your day.
God, I appreciate the gift of your lessons. Hopefully this is one that I accept and put into practice. Amen
Enjoyed your thoughts and devotion for today. It reminded me of something I learned many years ago. Many years ago we were in a bad car accident on Christmas Eve. We were hit by a drunk driver coming home from a party. My husband was hospitalized for over a month, but the kids and I were treated and released. My husband was on strike so we had lost our insurance. I took out a small policy but it did not cover major medical. We had just built our new home and moved in. Our kids were 5 and 1 years old. The kid who hit us had high risk insurance that only covered him. I was broke and home alone with two small children. People in the community were helping me, but my pride was hurting. Our pastor at the time told me something I will never forget. "Anyone can be a giver, but it takes a bigger person to be able to receive." It helped me through our situation. Now I try to let others do for me when they volunteer.
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