A good deed does not go unnoticed, but it should.
A good deed always has strings attached, but it shouldn’t.
A good deed should never expect return, yet it does.

Few among us have mastered the art of true generosity. To give and hold nothing back. To give and expect nothing in return. Fewer still can recognize it. We look for and create the ulterior motive. Is no one truly magnanimous? Society no longer even recognizes the word, and yet, every now and again, we see it.

There are soldiers still sacrificing their lives for others. (Did you know that the “red” in the American flag represents the blood shed for our freedom?) There are mothers who feed and care for the severely handicapped until they are no longer able. There are those who foster the angry teenage orphan without expecting anything in return.
Not me, God, thankfully not me. Why not you? Are you willing? Why not die to yourself-your desires-and pursue God, yes, pursue God and see what happens…..who will you love in His name?

Choices-Choose this day whom you will serve

The proverbial “Spiritual Buffet” has many offerings but it is based on the faulty premise that man is basically good. And if man is basically good, what need is there for a savior? If you walk down the spiritual buffet, picking the parts you like, (Kindness is a fruit of the spirit), and rejecting the things you don’t (homosexuality is a sin), you have just invented your own spirituality. It’s one where you feel loved and comfortable, and yet, it seems to be missing something.

Look carefully at the small table there at the end of the buffet. Do you see it? Yes, the one with the red tablecloth. No, it’s not empty. Walk further down. There, the simple carpenter’s wooden cup, and the small sign. Can you read it without tears? It states, “Can you drink the cup I will drink?”

The Heart of Hannah

You know the Biblical story of Hannah, don’t you? She was heartbroken because she couldn’t have children. The other wife with the kids tormented her. The well-meaning husband asked, “Aren’t I better than ten sons?” Year after year it went. The passage does not say how many years, and I have pondered on this many times. Perhaps we just need to know it was year after year. Until the year they were again at Shiloh for the annual sacrifice, and again, Hannah was so sad in her heart, she couldn’t even eat. (See I Samuel 1).

This time, however, she stood up and went to the temple. She had business with God. I do not think this was the first time Hannah pleaded with the Lord for a child, but I do think this time was different. Hannah had a change of heart. She no longer wanted this child for herself, or for her husband, Elkanah, or even to spite her tormenter, Penninah. She wanted this child for God. So she could give him back to temple service. She didn’t bargain; she didn’t ask for any more children to be hers. It was a simple ‘if, then’ request. ‘If you give me a child, then I will give him to you.’ She recognized that God was in ultimate control and it was up to Him.

At first, the priest did not understand the distraught woman in his temple. He assumed she had been drinking, but when he realized the sincerity of her heart, he told her to go in peace.
The last part of this passage amazes me. It says, when she went away, she no longer had a sad face. God hadn’t promised her anything, she wasn’t suddenly pregnant, she had no idea about her future, but she no longer had a sad face. Why? She had surrendered it to God, completely, and now she could carry peace.

I spent many years studying this passage, trying to figure out Hannah’s formula for conception, wondering why God had closed her womb, as the passage states. I finally had to set aside all my own questions, and trust God completely, whether my future included children or not. I am still learning to trust Him, each and every day. There are many things I have had to surrender in order to “go in peace,” and peace is so much better than a sad face.
Go in peace.