Read John 13:1-17 Every year I wrestle with what to give my Father for Christmas. He seems to have everything! And so I mentally search for ideas weeks in advance. Around Thanksgiving I usually give up and just ask him …
My grandfather was a medical missionary to China for twenty-five years. He established a three-hundred-bed hospital where he treated just about every type of illness and injury that could be named. Many of his Chinese patients were cured of diseases and saved from death by his skilled ministrations. But in time, every single one of the people who went through his hospital died! If all my grandfather had accomplished was to meet the physical needs of these people, his efforts would have been hopelessly futile. But my grandfather was wise. He knew that “man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” and so all of his ambulatory patients were required to attend chapel every day in the hospital where they were given a Bible lesson and presented with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who were unable to leave their beds were visited personally by someone who would share Christ with them. Hundreds, and even thousands, of Chinese men and women received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior at the Love-and-Mercy Hospital in Tsingkiangpu. And so many of my grandfather’s patients who eventually died – still live. As you care for others, make sure you give priority to their spiritual needs.
Although God was actively involved throughout the Creation process, in the beginning the “earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep” (Gen. 1:2,NIV). If you and I had been present at that time to view the earth, we might have had the impression that because we could not see any evidence of God’s activity, He was not doing anything. Yet at that very time, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Gen. 1:2, NIV). He was actively preparing Planet Earth to receive His Word and be transformed into a place of beauty and purpose.
Are you concerned for a friend whose life is like “the surface of the deep”– undulating, unstable, always changing, and moody? Even though you have prayed without ceasing, have you seen no evidence of God’s activity in that person’s life? Have you therefore concluded that God is not active? Place your faith in the God of Creation and be encouraged! He is active whether or not you and I can see evidence of His activity.
Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus was the honored guest at a feast held in one of His favorite homes, presumably to celebrate the new life of His friend Lazarus. While Jesus, along with Lazarus and other guests, was reclining at the dinner table, Lazarus’s sister, Mary, entered the room with an alabaster box. The box contained very expensive perfume – equal to a year’s wages – that would have been her dowry. Mary took the box of perfume that represented her future hopes and dreams, broke it, and poured it on the head of Jesus. When she was criticized by those in the room as being exceedingly wasteful, Jesus sharply rebuked them while gently praising her for a beautiful act of sacrificial worship.
How extravagant is your sacrifice to God? Do you give God as little as you think you can get by with? A little bit of energy and effort when you’re not too tired? A little bit of time you have no use for? A little bit of money you don’t really need yourself? A sacrifice is not a sacrifice until it’s a sacrifice!
