Making a Difference
The meeting was taking place at the St. Andrew’s Club in a downtown office tower in Toronto. I made my way quite early in the morning. I did not want to be late.
It was early, still dark outside and very, very cold.
“Downtown Toronto is so much nicer than downtown Houston.” I thought. “Even in the bitter cold. Except for all these homeless people strewn on the sidewalks. I don’t remember seeing any homeless people on the streets of downtown Houston.”
I stopped.
In the middle of the sidewalk. In downtown Toronto. And I thought about how quickly and absolutely I dismissed the lives of the two homeless men directly across the street. They were huddled over the air vents. They were trying to keep warm and they were trying to sleep.
How could I be so uncaring?
What is the difference between those two men across the street, laying on a sidewalk, alone and in the freezing cold, and me? We were so close in distance and yet worlds apart in how we experience life. From the viewpoint of eternity, we are really no different at all.
As I stood there, thinking about fate and circumstance, I noticed a vehicle pull up beside the two men. A woman stepped out of the vehicle with blankets. She approached each man in turn and wrapped him in a thick blanket. And then she returned to her vehicle having made a difference to each one’s life.
“Thank God for the Salvation Army.” I thought. “I’d better get moving. I don’t want to be late for my meeting.”
I wonder who had their priorities straight that morning. Thank you, Salvation Army, for making a difference in the lives of those two men. I can, at least, give something to your work.
Matthew chapter 19
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
Sunday school teachers love to tell of the proud young man who boasted to all that he had the most beautiful heart in the village. A large crowd gathered and admired his heart. It was indeed perfect, for there was not a mark or scar on it.
Suddenly a wise old man appeared, displaying a heart badly scarred with deep gouges. Set into the holes were ill-fitting pieces that created a hodgepodge. “yours is the heart that looks perfect,” the old man said to the proud young man, “but I would never trade with you. For you see, every scar on my heart represents a person to whom I have given love, while the ragged pieces are gifts given in return.”
The young man was stunned. He reached into his heart, tore out a piece, and with trembling hands offered it to the old man, who responded in kind. The young man now looked at his heart, bearing some jagged edges but more beautiful than ever, since the love from the old man’s heart now flowed into his.
“Now you know, ” said the old man. “A generous heart is always best.”
As we go about our busy lives, we must remember the tale of the generous heart, sometimes scarred by its habits of giving but always overflowing with peace and love.
(taken from No Jesus, No Peace-Know Jesus, Know Peace) Timeless Wisdom for Living a Life That Matters written By Two Seekers
Merry Christmas, Richard!