Who Do We Thank?

 

Our Old Gathering Place in Machias 

Jesus said  

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." Matthew 6 (ESV)

I love this passage from the Sermon on the Mount. Here we have the very words of Jesus warning us against doing something RIGHT for the WRONG reasons. It is obvious that He wants us to bless the needy with our gifts. He said "when you give," not "IF you give". But Jesus -- who looks on our hearts and knows our motives -- wants us to exercise caution that we are not doing good deeds just to make everyone admire us. There is something beautiful about receiving an anonymous gift. Who do we thank then? We thank and glorify our Lord God who is, indeed, the One who supplies all our needs (Philippians 4:19) 

Have you ever received a gift and had no idea who was the generous person who sent it to you? Let me tell you about one that was given to us. It was sometime in the 1970s that I looked out the window and saw a fuel truck from the "wrong company" backing into our yard. Our oil supply was very low and we didn't have the money to buy any. I went to the door and called to the driver, who was pulling the hose from his truck, "sir," I said. "You have the wrong house." The driver assured me this was the right house. Then I said, "we don't buy our fuel from you." He acknowledged that fact and then said, "all I know is that I was told to come to this house and fill your tank." I was stunned and grateful all at once. Who would DO this? We never found out. Someone was simply acting in obedience to the Lord to love a neighbor as himself.

Most of us cannot afford to fill people's oil tanks. But everyone can do something. For example, we were in Machias on Tuesday and discovered a wonderful way to care for others. At Helen's Restaurant there is a container where patrons and others can place the price of "a cup of coffee" in a container. The money collected will be used to provide food or drink to someone in need. Almost everyone can spare a dollar or two. Whether we use this method or another to help the needy, let's be in prayer that the receiver of the gifts will recognize the goodness of God.

There are so many ways to give. And when we give of our money, our time, or some other resource we find that indeed, "it is more blessed to give than to receive."