the door
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I love it, when people get it. I love it when folks see ministry as the responsibility of all Christ-followers and not just those who are "ministers" as a vocation. I love it when people accept a gift. No strings attached. No score-keeping. Last Friday, a family at ACC stopped in during the day and asked if I would do them a favor. They wanted to know if I would be willing to drop off some groceries for a family that they knew of in the local community who had fallen on hard times. The plan was that they would go out and purchase the groceries and stop back by and place them in the General Ki and I would then deliver them. (This "giving" family wanted to remain anonymous so as not to affect their relationship with the "receiving" family.) And so they did. And so I did. |
| I drove to the family's apartment and told the shocked lady at the door that someone wanted to bless them and that I had the privilege of simply being the guy who was able to bring the blessing by. She only opened the door as wide as the chain lock would allow. She was highly suspicious that someone would give something to her for free. I told her that I didn't want anything from her at all. I told her that there really IS such a thing as a free lunch. After several moments of suspicion, confusion and utter bewilderment (she almost completely refused), the woman relented and sent her two sons down to the General Ki for the ten-plus bags of fresh groceries. After a few trips up and down the sidewalk and some chit-chat about marching band percussion sections, I said good-bye to these young men. You see, there are a lot of people who are chained up in the comfort of their home and are suspicious that God would offer them eternal life. For free. They're convinced that they don't want anything to do with God; standing on the other side of the door. They're suspicious. And they barely crack the door to seek Him or understand why He would desire to bless them. And sadly, they either leave the door shut, or reject the offer. As I drove away, I prayed that this moment would have been a seed planted in her heart and in the hearts of her teenage children. A seed about how God offers grace to all of us. It's free. None of us deserve it. All of us have access to it. We simply receive it through faith. And then we praise and thank God for this greatest blessing of all. We serve a big God. It's humbling to be an instrument to bless other people. It's all part of the Plan. His. Not ours. I love it when people get it... I love it when people open the door of their hearts and accept the free gift of grace through faith in Jesus. | |
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