11/21/2024
I read two different devotionals each day and I write my thoughts surrounding them in these early morning devotional messages and prayers. But, today is different; I am taking the time to pass on my thoughts regarding a book I have been reading as well. Have you ever heard the expression "time is money"? It is a common saying that I have heard and repeated most of my life. Today I thought of it again as I read Galatians 6:10 and wondered if time isn’t also good… is time the thing that measures how much good we can do in life?
"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
So, what is good? When I hear of needs in my church or community I often search for a method of donating money to help; hoping that in this way I can do good. However, there are times when money is short, or a financial solution just isn't good enough.
I am reading a book called "To the Field of Stars" which is more or less a journal of Father Kevin A. Codd's travel along a pilgrimage route called the Camino de Santiago in Spain. This trail is fairly well marked but in a small village he loses his way and an elderly man walks him through the town and puts him back on the trail again. What I really loved about this story was Father Codd's analysis of it. Here is what he said:
"Gestures like this old grandpa's towards an anonymous pilgrim are so insignificant on the grand scale of human history and the great struggle between good and evil that their value to the continued salvation of the race risks being seriously underestimated; in the end, and this is so important to learn, they are where that struggle between good and evil is won or lost. They are what keep human beings worthy of continued hope." – Father Kevin A. Codd
So in our daily lives, even the seemingly insignificant acts of kindness and “good” we perform are active assaults on evil. The kind word, the helping hand, slowing down to let someone onto the interstate, a heartfelt prayer... All of these small acts of good insure that we are staving off unrighteousness, and are preparing the ground for the seed of faith.
“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
Hebrews 13:16 ESV
We read so often about monumental good, but so seldom of the small acts of kindness that surround us. I was watching the morning news one day as the news crew presented a car to a woman who had been helping others for most of her life. She had lost the use of the old car she was driving and couldn't get to those whose lives she was touching. The giver had found herself in need of the very good she had been doing for others.
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
Galatians 6:9-10 ESV
As the reporter spoke of the impact her acts of charity and kindness had made over the years, it dawned on me that none of these acts were exceptional in their scope and, in themselves, were only notable to the recipient... and even then they might only call for a quick "thank you!" in return. So if it weren’t the magnitude of the good that set her apart, what was it?
As I thought further about it, I realized it was the volume of her goodness... the continuous nature of her caring for others. It was also the fact that she gave to them even when she would have to live on less herself in order to do so. I was seeing Jesus in each of her acts of kindness, and hearing the prayers that surely accompanied her acts of good.
“The reward for doing good is life, but sin leads only to more sin.”
Proverbs 10:16 GNT
On any day this woman might come to the aid of a young mother by watching her sick child while she went to work, or by giving a neighbor a ride to a doctor's appointment, or taking a meal to a struggling family. The list was long and varied, but if not for the constant nature of her giving, and the outreach of her faith that it brought to others, she would possibly have lived her entire life of helping others in anonymity; without any earthly recognition whatsoever. This reminds us of prayer doesn’t it?
““And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
Matthew 6:5 ESV
Does this woman’s giving sound biblical to you? It certainly does to me. She was quietly and unassumingly going about the Lord's work. No notice, no fame, no earthly payment, just a humble spirit, and the promise of glory it would one day bring. If not for her own need for help, we would never have heard of her, or of her remarkable life... and neither would the news crew that was sent to her aid.
She was just a poor woman that was battling evil and Satan with one small act of good, kindness, and charity at a time. She was conducting a form of gorilla warfare against the forces of darkness by lighting one small candle of hope at a time. How do we offer our good to the world? What will be the gift or help we will receive for exercising the goodness that God placed within us?
Prayer:
Thank you Father for your goodness, and for instilling the nature of it in each of us. Thank you Lord for viewing the small acts of kindness and good that we do in the same way you view those which are monumental. Father, never let us forget that our acts of kindness, no matter how small, are meaningful and send a ripple through hell itself. Lord help us to see the need for feeding the hungry, giving shelter to the homeless, and so many other basic mercies... and then show us how doing what we can to make an impact on the lives of others blesses them, and us alike. Help us to become more like the nameless woman on television who helped others without asking for anything in return. Help us to give, even when it means that we will suffer the loss of some comfort so that the pain and discomfort of another might be eased. Father give us such a desire to help those around us that when a kindness is done for us... we find ourselves humbled, and weeping in our guiltiness. Holy Father, let our time be spent on doing good, and if time is indeed goodness, just as time is money, then let us spend our time well by clothing those in need with the very best garments of our faith. Let our good deeds yield hope in our lives through your mercy, even as we provide moments of hope to others through the mercy we give. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who is forever good, and teaches us how to give and receive your goodness in our lives. Holy are you in all things good, whether large or small… miraculous or mundane. So in this way Abba help us to give more than we receive just as Jesus gave living water, and forgiveness, for a small sip of water from the Samaritan woman at the well. Blessed and good are you Father, and worthy is your Son Jesus Christ who teaches us how to do good according to what we have, and are able. Bless the poor widows Lord with the same blessing with which you bless the wealthy among us. Smile on the widow’s mite just as broadly as you smile on the wealthy man’s gold, and humble us each accordingly. Hear this our prayer… that we will find some act of good which we can do today, and that we will give some moniker of hope and faith to a hopelessly lost soul. Praised be your name Father, and may the glory in every good we do be yours, and yours alone.
Amen
“The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.””
John 4:9-10 ESV
“give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.””
Luke 6:38 ESV
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
Ephesians 4:29 ESV
Rich Forbes