Real Things

"For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21:4)

When I look around at the world and wonder what is happening, I realize we have a heart condition. And it isn't a good one. Our hearts are closed, hardening, and self-serving. This may sound harsh and negative, but isn't it true? Don't we all want what we want when we want it?

How do we get over this type of thinking? How do we learn to hold on to our possessions with a loose grip? I know from experience that saving and planning and feeling that it will be okay, is a false feeling. At any moment it can all be taken away. We are all vulnerable to that unplanned illness, the economic downturn, the loss of a job. At any moment, that which we hold on to so tightly can be ripped from us.

But, you know what? We will survive because there is One who cares for us and who will always provide for us. Growing up with nothing tends to make us want to grab all we can.  Once we have experienced the grace of God reaching out His hand to help us get through a devastating trauma, or an evitction notice, it is easier to understand that 'things' are just that.  Things. In the grand scheme of life they don't matter at all.

It is the people around us who mater, those who take up space in our hearts are the real 'things'. Generosity can be contagious, let's spread it around.


Luke 21:1-4