Monday, April 4, 2016
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But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what
your right hand is doing. Matthew 6:3(NLT)
For several
years the strangest thing happened at our mailbox; I was meeting God
there. Now, I’m not Moses, and my
mailbox never caught on fire, but nonetheless, there is holy ground at the post
box marked “167 Cedar Circle”.
It started in
2000 when we moved to Thomasville. The
envelope containing cash was postmarked Jacksonville, Florida. It was addressed to Elizabeth and me…and the
return address was ours too! Now, I’m
a bit off-center at times, but I very rarely send myself money in an unsigned
letter.
Over the
first three years we would get an envelope like that once in a while. The pattern never changed; it was always an
unsigned paper with no message, wrapped around twenty dollar bills in a legal
envelope, with addressee and addressor the same.
Then, it
stopped. As suddenly and mysteriously as
it began, our benefactor ceased this clandestine charity. We heard nothing for about two years. Then, in 2005 it started again. This time, however, the envelopes contained
greater amounts.
For five
years those envelopes were a great help.
A few times they were the difference between, well, eating and
dieting!
In all we
have seen an incredible display of generosity on the part of some dear one who
took Matthew 6:3 literally!
Of course, the
secretive manner of our blessing caused us to wonder just who it was that had
been blessing us. There were times I felt
like the rich atheist at Thanksgiving time – all sorts of blessings, and no one
to thank!
The whole
matter reminded me of the gift of Christ through Mary, and her puzzlement about
why, how, when, where….all that stuff she treasured-up in her heart,
pondering.
I often wondered
“why us”?
We could
spend a year talking about what these well-timed gifts have meant to us
financially, but whomever the Lord moved to do this unselfish blessing must know
that, for us, the spiritual encouragement has been greater than the monetary
boost.
Some
Lessons I’ve Learned About Blessings
·
I have been taught by this generosity that you cannot
give in a way that begins to match God’s grace.
Like the gifts Elizabeth and I have received, God’s best comes
undeserved, and mostly unasked-for; He blesses whom He will bless, and He does
it with impeccably great timing! We are
humbled by His great love and care.
·
I have learned to thank God…There are blessings which
God schedules so that there is no human explanation…it can only be His hand,
His miracle, and we must therefore thank Him…because there’s no-one else to
thank. He did it that way two thousand
years ago, at a manger; He can do it at a mailbox…mine or yours.
God has
blessed us in many more ways than our trips to the mailbox; however, these
stand out in my mind as God’s encouragement to a sometimes discouraged
man.
Isn’t that
always His way?
Thank God
for this gift too wonderful for words! 2 Corinthians 9:15(NLT)
For You Today
In God’s economy there are times when
you will receive, and at other times God wants you to be the giver.
But, unlike the “bug and windshield” where
sometimes you are one, and sometimes the other; when it comes to giving God’s
way, you’re
always both. You can never
give without receiving – if you don’t let your left hand know what the right is
doing.
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