Day 6: Little things with great love

February 19, Day 6 : Mathew 25: 31-46

 As explained earlier, the weekend was useless and a bit of a blur which upset my routine and it was no surprise that I overslept on Monday morning! It's pretty difficult to not be affected by on-going things and still make time for this Bible reading. I am glad I persisted today.

Today's reading is from Mathew 25:31-46, here are the bits that stood out:

 Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’

----------------------

Thoughts:  Today's reading gave me space to take the focus away from 'me' and make me consider what I was doing for other people. Which left me feeling deflated as I was not really doing anything for other people as described in the passage?! especially in terms of almsgiving, charity work or helping the less privileged. It struck a chord in me to do more on this front - I'm not sure what this is yet.

Edited to add: A few days later it struck me, when I was talking with a friend who sounded like they needed help. Said friend is a continent away, and usually I don't get proactively involved in what's she's going through. Main reason: different time zones, state of minds, different pages, busy in our own lives. Well usually, apart from our regular chats. But, that's when this verse really made sense to me. J was not just talking about doing huge world-changing things like volunteering, or giving loads to charity or being hands on in the community (well, if you are the sort, good for you too!).

He was talking about the little things. Kindness to a stranger. A small act you can do everyday to cheer up the life of another. In small ways. Things you can do in your power in the everyday. By being proactive when you are with family and friends, and taking the time to step outside 'your world'. It might sound obvious, but if you think about it, there will be instances when you failed to do things when you easily could have.

Takeaway: Be kind and tend to the needs of the people around you. Charity begins at home - true words! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Keep the faith

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.” John 15:1-2 A timely reminder as I allow life to usurp my peace and joy which I had slowly but surely gained over the past few months, especially as I started to read the Bible over 40 days for lent. It is so easy to slip back into old ways. We’re so fickle like that. For me, it happened because I had family visiting and so all my undivided attention turned to them. I did do my daily Bible readings but its message did not stand out like usual. I did not carry it with me through the day, like I usually aim to do. Shows me how quick to preoccupation my mind and heart is. The above lines have hidden meaning in them. At first, I skim over and yadayadayada goes through my mind… yeah, well of course the father is the vine and I am the branches. That must be the message which I’ve often heard before. And that must b
Read more

Day 40: The home stretch

So, it's the 40th day! The final day of Lent is actually Holy Thursday. So, since I'd covered all the Sundays of lent, I've completed 39 days and gotten here without having ideally covered every reading in the Holy Week. To wrap up my exercise, I will focus on the verses from Thursday and (good) Friday to wrap up this exercise, as it's at the heart of Christian faith. I attended the service yesterday and was surprised to find almost half of it was in Polish - both songs and readings. Didn't realize there was such a huge Polish community in Taunton, UK and thought it interesting.  (Prayer and song sound even more intriguing when you don't understand the language so you are forced to go by feel and not by words).  Interestingly, unlike the case in India where 12 older folks are selected for the washing of the feet, the main priest walked down the middle of the church and washed different people's feet (seemingly at random). Maundy Thursday As a chil
Read more

Day 27: Finding neverland

12 March, Day 27: St. John 4: 43-54 It's very much part of human nature to want to see 'proof' before we believe anything. We tend to want to use fact and reasoning to shape our views of the world, and this is one of the ways we process information. However, there are things beyond human understanding that just cannot be proven - such as miracles, or faith. This is one of the reasons why so many dodgy 'spiritual people' exist and thrive. Because they tap into people's desire for the unknown. And this forces many of us to turn skeptics when it comes to God and spirituality. Today's verse is from John 4:43-54 : “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” Thoughts:  When Jesus travels from Judea to Gaililee, an official of the King come to him and begs him to heal his dying son. Jesus speaks the above words in response but declares to the Official that his son would live. Even before the Official reached hom
Read more