Sacrifice

This past Sunday our church was raising funds for school supplies for a local elementary school which has a high percentage of low income students. The goal was to raise $1600 dollars. A generous person gave the church a challenge which was, “if the church raises $800 then I will match the offering with another $800”. What a great deal to get our fundraiser off to a super start. So the word began to get out about our challenge. Our children minister posted the challenge on Face Book. The generosity of our church blows me away.

One of the responses to the Face Book post was from a soldier in Iraq who read the challenge and immediately got on PayPal and sent us $100. This young man understands life and sacrifice. He understands what we have all been called to do in life. He understands the importance of being a part of something bigger than yourself. Not only is he willing to serve his country by fighting for our national security, he is also aware of the smaller battles in life that can be won by few people who are willing to make a difference by working together to change their small corner of the world.

That is your calling too, to make a difference in the lives of people around you. To reach out in whatever way you can to make another persons life better. The need may be school supplies or it may be something else entirely such as food, clothing, friendship, a listening ear, a place to stay, a thoughtful prayer, a word of encouragement, a push in the right direction, a vote of confidence, or the willingness to used in whatever way needed to make a difference.

Another story about the fundraiser is this: In the bottom of one of the envelopes was a dollar and twenty seven cents ($1.27) in change. I am not sure about the giver of the change, but it also indicates a generous heart. Maybe the person just emptied their pockets and gave all that they had. Or maybe it was from a child who brought money from their piggy bank. I just have no idea about who gave that amount, but I do know this, it was from a generous heart who sacrificed what little they had to be a part of something bigger than themselves to make a difference in the life of someone they do not know. That $1.27 is huge on the loving heart scale.

You see it does not matter if you are the $800 giver or the $100 giver from Iraq or the $1.27 giver scraping the bottom of your pockets or one of the hundred other givers who gave anything from a one dollar bill to a hundred dollar bill. The same thing is true about each giver. God loves you for your generosity and he loves the spirit in which you gave your gift.

My prayer this morning is that God will bless each dollar and each penny and use this act of love and generosity to change the lives of children and parents who need to know that people around world care about them and want to make their life better. May they also come to know this, God is AWESOME!

Love God. Go Love Others.