James 2:15-17 (NIV)
15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and
daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well
fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the
same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
In the late 1800s, "Slow Sam" was hired to
sweep streets of his small town in Iowa.
The job description required Sam, once a week, to clean
off the sidewalks in front of the town's stores and businesses. It was not a
high-paying job, nor was it the kind of position to which people aspired. Still
Sam was a friendly fellow, and his conversations made him many friends.
One of those friendly folks Sam met was Mrs. Gidding, the
lady who owned a haberdashery on the corner of Main Street. After Sam swept her
walk, Mrs. Gidding always took him a glass of lemonade and a slice of cake.
While Sam always thanked the lady for her kindness, it took until the end of
summer before he really showed his appreciation.
That night Sam knocked on the door of Mrs. Gidding's
home. When she opened the door, Sam presented her with a sack of apples and a
dozen ears of sweet corn. He said, "I brought you these, Ma'am, for your
kindness."
"Oh, you shouldn't!" Exclaimed Mrs. Gidding.
"What I did was nothing."
Then the street sweeper said an odd thing. He agreed with
her and replied, "Maybe not, Ma'am, but it was more than was done by
anybody else."
You know, I suppose most of the Christians of that small
Iowa town would have done the same as Mrs. Gidding ... if they had thought
about it. Sadly, it just never occurred to them to help out the poor street
sweeper. They went about doing their work, and they thought he should do the
same.
No further interaction was necessary.
We need to give thanks the Lord hasn't treated us that
way. He could have done just that, you know. He could have left us going
through our lives without any interaction between Him and us. Instead of doing
that, He decided to intervene by sending His Son into the world to live, die
and rise for us. Now, because of Jesus' actions, all who believe are forgiven
and given a place in the kingdom of heaven.
This means that we, in thanksgiving to the Redeemer, are
given the opportunity to respond. Most certainly we ought to be appreciative to
Jesus, but we also can show our gratitude by responding favorably to others,
even if it is with just a piece of cake and a glass of lemonade.
Dear Lord, thank You for giving unto each of us the gift
of forgiven sin. Help us accept that today and share that great news to those
around us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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