I saw two kids playing. They seemed to get along well until …
When snack time came, sharing became a problem. One child had a biscuit in one hand and a cookie in the other. She was supposed to pass the biscuit to her friend but wanted both for herself. Her friend looked on almost in tears, yet that didn’t change anything.
The first child then asked for some juice, but her mum refused. She wanted to teach her daughter to share. She could only have the juice if she passed along the biscuit and had an empty hand to receive the juice.
We’re often like the kid who wouldn’t share. We gather for ourselves. We receive from the Lord—who generously gives us many opportunities and resources—but we forget that He gives so we can share with others.
I often say God didn’t make us barrels to hold the things He gives us. He made us large teapots to pour out and fill others as He keeps refilling us.
In the parable of the talents, Jesus taught that it isn’t about what we are given or how much we receive. It’s about what we do with what we have.
If we keep everything to ourselves and do nothing with it, we misuse our resources. It is interesting to find a link between the lack of investment or multiplication of resources and their misuse. The greatest use of the resources and opportunities the Lord gives us is to invest them in other’s lives. That kind of investment multiplies and lasts. We only receive more of what we use, not what we keep.
Many people do not have the resources or the opportunities to turn certain resources into great life achievements. But they do have hands to accept what we give them. We must simply be willing to give.
Decide that you will be a teapot by helping others have a nourishing and fulfilling life.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Emmanuella Ellis has the desire to reach out to others using the understanding gained through the Scriptures as a tool. She has a passion for writing and pours her creativity in poems, short stories, and drama scripts. She enjoys spending time with and writing stories for children. Emmanuella is currently enrolled in a graduate program at McGill University and learning a great deal about how to spend time with God amid all the stress of academic work. She loves to spend time indoors, reading books or journals and listening to music. Emmanuella is a lover of Christ. She yearns to live each day for Him and urges others along that same path.