'Tis Better to Give than to Receive
We gave a cup of water, worth a few cents. But we left with God's joy and blessings, which are priceless.
It was a busy night I was taking a quick break from work to walk downtown with my then-fiance (now husband) to grab some dinner. I must admit that often on such times I am very likely to ignore the homeless who sit on the side of that busy street, cups or signs in their hands, looking for a handout. Far too often, it just seems easier to tune them out, to avoid looking at their pleading eyes.
Thankfully, my fiance is not that kind of person. He seems to always have Jesus' command from Luke 6:30 in the back of his mind: "Give to everyone who asks." And so when he saw that elderly gentleman sitting in the dark on the sidewalk, my fiance steered us over there to drop some change in his cup and to ask him what he needed.
The old man looked up at us with a grateful smile. "I could use a cup of water," he asked humbly.
That was easy enough. We ran over to McDonalds and order some fries and a cup of water. When we returned we were rewarded with another grateful smile.
"Thank you! God bless you!"
"God bless you too!" we responded, surprised at the Christian greeting. Then followed a wonderful conversation about religion, life, and family. We found out that our new friend was a father of five. When he found out that we were getting married soon, he wished us a long happy marriage, and no less than five children for ourselves. When we finally had to tear ourselves away, he prayed for us and asks for God's blessings in our lives.
We gave a cup of water, worth a few cents. But we left with God's joy and blessings, which are priceless.
