According to some accounts, I have been elevated to the status of a CGGC layman, that is, someone in the body who lacks specialized or professional knowledge. Considering what the CGGC people who are credentialed as possessing specialized or professional knowledge are accomplishing, I'm happy to embrace the designation.
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Living Matthew 25:34f
I married so far out of my league I have no words for it!
We just agreed that I have a $200 budget to buy groceries for people I wait on at the store between now and Christmas.
I bought groceries for a coworker yesterday. She's a part-timer whom I'd peg at about 70 years old. She is estranged from her brothers and sisters because she couldn't contribute to funeral expenses when her 90something mother died last year. She told me a few years ago that her heating bill in the apartment she rents is $600 a month during the cold months and, of course, those months are neigh.
Antway, she bought a few things after her shift yesterday and was having trouble with her debit card as she was paying. I was working in that lane so I took out my card and swiped it. She resisted for a moment and then said, "I'll pay it forward."
A few months back, the ERC sponsored a worshop on being contagious which I couldn't attend because I was working. I remembered that workshop later when two people who witnessed what I'd done engaged me in conversation about what I'd done. And, one of those conversations was in the presence of several other people.
For years, I've been struggling with the tension between Matthew 5 where Jesus commands that we should let our light so shine that others will see our good works and glorify our heavenly Father and Matthew 6 where He says that if we do our good works in public to be seen by others we already have our reward.
It's a fine line to walk. And, it has a lot to do with what's in your heart at the moment. I think I did okay yesterday.
Yesterday, the coworker whose groceries I bought last month approached me holding a wad of bills in her hand and told me she wanted to pay me back.
I told her that I wouldn't take the money because she promised to pay it forward. She argued for a minute or two and, when she could tell I was resolute, she backed down and agreed to help someone else at some time in the future.
When she walked away, I noticed that it seemed like all eyes were on us. One coworker, who is a believer who lives a life of grace and mercy, was studying our conversation closely. I'd love to know what she was thinking.
I love living obediently in a way that is startling to others but I understand that it is the Kingdom that is being displayed when I do it.
I know that my walk is taken seriously among my coworkers and among some customers of the store. And, it's not because of how eloquently I explain complex points of doctrine, though that comes up from time to time. It's because of my meager efforts to be a slave to all, as Jesus taught.
I bought groceries for a coworker yesterday. She's a part-timer whom I'd peg at about 70 years old. She is estranged from her brothers and sisters because she couldn't contribute to funeral expenses when her 90something mother died last year. She told me a few years ago that her heating bill in the apartment she rents is $600 a month during the cold months and, of course, those months are neigh.
ReplyDeleteAntway, she bought a few things after her shift yesterday and was having trouble with her debit card as she was paying. I was working in that lane so I took out my card and swiped it. She resisted for a moment and then said, "I'll pay it forward."
A few months back, the ERC sponsored a worshop on being contagious which I couldn't attend because I was working. I remembered that workshop later when two people who witnessed what I'd done engaged me in conversation about what I'd done. And, one of those conversations was in the presence of several other people.
For years, I've been struggling with the tension between Matthew 5 where Jesus commands that we should let our light so shine that others will see our good works and glorify our heavenly Father and Matthew 6 where He says that if we do our good works in public to be seen by others we already have our reward.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fine line to walk. And, it has a lot to do with what's in your heart at the moment. I think I did okay yesterday.
Yesterday, the coworker whose groceries I bought last month approached me holding a wad of bills in her hand and told me she wanted to pay me back.
ReplyDeleteI told her that I wouldn't take the money because she promised to pay it forward. She argued for a minute or two and, when she could tell I was resolute, she backed down and agreed to help someone else at some time in the future.
When she walked away, I noticed that it seemed like all eyes were on us. One coworker, who is a believer who lives a life of grace and mercy, was studying our conversation closely. I'd love to know what she was thinking.
I love living obediently in a way that is startling to others but I understand that it is the Kingdom that is being displayed when I do it.
I know that my walk is taken seriously among my coworkers and among some customers of the store. And, it's not because of how eloquently I explain complex points of doctrine, though that comes up from time to time. It's because of my meager efforts to be a slave to all, as Jesus taught.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete