Helping Hands

Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality. Romans 12:13  

Few days ago my Bible reading portion was on this verse, the practice of the Body life by living a life of the highest virtue. This was also one of the verses we pray-read for our official fellowship yesterday. Little did I realize that this word of God would really mean business with me. The Lord's word is no doctrine at all, every time the Lord led me to certain verses, what followed suit was its application. The word of God was sweet and nourishing, and it was practically applied to my living. In fact, it was sweeter in a deeper sense that it touched my inward being, to the extend of paying some price and to experience its worth.

In application to this verse, "Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality," the Lord created a situation in which I had to contribute to the needs of the saints practically. The Lord sovereignly allows some saints to seek help from me, all of them in the matter of helping in booking flights tickets to different destinations and involves a transaction to the tune of a hundred and fifty thousand rupees. 

Well I did not have that amount in ready cash. My initial thought was to be just frank and tell the saints, "Sorry, I can't help you this time." But as I prayed over the matter, the Lord impressed me in this specific matter that I should not turn down the saints' requests for help. I really wanted to help by all means, as long as I have the capacity to do so. So I fellowshipped with my wife and she was one with me. What followed next was, we broke one of our FDs and got enough ready cash to help the saints. Of course, they will pay back, but at their own pace and convenience. 

This matter of booking flight tickets happened at the same time for eight different needy ones. If we had not decided to help these saints I don't know how much it would have affected them. Praise the Lord for the grace the Lord has bestowed on us, that we can be of some help to the saints in need. There was a little price paid from our side, but it was nothing in comparison to the joy of being able to help the saints in need. Perhaps, this is how we contribute to the need of the saints?

Similar case is with hospitality. "Pursue hospitality." The last few days, the Lord suddenly brought eight persons to our home. There was every reason to deny hospitality with the simple excuse that we don't have enough space or room for accommodation. But when my wife and I considered the matter over, we decided to make some urgent arrangement so as to accommodate every one. Amazingly, every one was accommodated with mutual understanding of adjustment wherever needed. This is another precious lesson the Lord is teaching us to learn in all humility.

By and large, it is all the grace of God bestowed upon our simple family that we can participate in the needs of the saints, and by so doing we are blessed by being a blessing to others. Not that we have learned this lesson well, but that we are learning and looking forward to the grace of God to learn much more.

Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality.

Lord, enlarge our capacity that Your Word may be real to us and that we may live it out.