It's Christmastime again in the Downriver and money is tight. As
wonderful as the season is, you can sometimes feel the financial and
emotional pressure in the air. If your heart has eyes for it you can see
it.
Jim is one of our deacons. Jim and Bea needed gas one day
last week. They were shopping gas prices, trying to save a few cents a
gallon, when they saw a sad sight with the eyes of their hearts.
A young man was out in the cold on a bike. He had laid his bike down and
he was digging though a trash can. At first they thought he was looking
for cans but he must have been hungry. As they watched from the warmth
of their car they saw him pick up a couple half-eaten sandwiches and
unwrap them to see if they were edible.
Jim got out his wallet
and Bea reached for her purse. Between them they came up with fourteen
dollars cash. Jim took the money, got out of the car and walked over to
the man on the bike. He said; "I'd like to buy those sandwiches from
you. I'll give you fourteen dollars for both of them."
The man
was grateful for the gift. Jim took a minute to talk with him, listen to
his story, and give him the money and a little booklet explaining the
gospel.
Like everyone else you know rich or poor, what the young
man on the bike needed more than anything was the message in the little
book, but it's easier to hear the gospel when you don't have to listen
over the noise of an empty stomach.
Jim and Bea gave away more
than they saved on their discount gas, but that winter evening they made
an investment that will pay off in eternity.
It's Christmastime
again. See the world though the eyes of your heart.
Ken Pierpont, Riverview, Michigan
