Joy Thief

A woman that I had just met told me an incredible story yesterday. She was 74 years of age and her husband had passed away recently. One of the things that she did to keep active was clean the church. I am sure it was also a way to fill in the time; a void that her late husband had left. She had an amazing peace that her husband was now with Jesus and she rejoiced in the fact that he would never feel pain again.

She described that the church paid her $25.00 per visit to clean the church. But, that she would not be getting paid any longer. She cleaned twice per week so, that came out to around $200.00 per month. In the short amount of time that we talked, she made it a point to let me know the incredible part of this story. The church had not decided to quit paying her. She did!

Getting paid to serve was robbing her, of all her joy, working for the Lord. And she would either do it for free, or not clean. She was finding the work, as a way to say thank you to God for His Grace, and for taking care of her late husband. $25.00 was a thief to her expression of gratitude.

You can really see Jesus in people. He is everywhere. I think we expect to make a once in a life time sighting of Him. Yes, officer. It was really Him! He had a beard, shoulder length hair, white robe and sandals. Of course it was Him! I see His picture every Sunday at church.

Look for Him today. Beyond the angry driver, away from the distractions of the newspaper headlines, apart from the needy cell phone, separated from our busy schedule. I hear people say Jesus has just vanished. Maybe $25.00 is getting in our way of finding Him.

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many." ~ Matthew 20:28 NLT

~ Tom Rogers ~
Copyright © 2010
All Rights Resrved

[ by: Tom Rogers, Copyright © 2010 ( tomrogers@rocketmail.com ) -- submitted by: Tom Rogers ]