Character and Discipline · Christian Life

Is there scarcity in our hearts?

4 min read, approximately

“For this people’s heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them.” (Acts 28:27)

The situation

It is not at all easy to be in a situation where we barely have anything to eat. It is not easy to leave your children with a smile, telling them: ‘I will be back later; I am going to buy something to eat’, when we do not even know whether that will be possible. Nothing is as distressing as a child coming up to you and saying: ‘Dad or Mom, I am hungry’, when you have nothing to give them. It is not easy for a young person to see no way out except giving in to a group’s pleasures to gain acceptance, because at home no one listens and they find no support, comfort, direction, or understanding. It is not easy when a young person longs for a hug and a ‘Everything will be all right’ and cannot find it. It is not easy for someone who has lost everything to board public transportation or sit on the ground in a street and start begging, enduring contempt, hostile looks, and mockery.

You know? These situations happen countless times around us every day… a neighbor, a friend’s child, the person begging on the street we often pass.
What is our attitude toward this? ‘Ah! They are like that because…’, ‘They are not my child, so…’, ‘They beg every day; they must be using it for…’

For meditation

God’s Word says

“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and the evil [man] out of the evil [treasure] bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” (Luke 6:45)

You and I have also been like that

and we have been rescued, forgiven, saved, and washed with the blood of the Lamb

“And such were some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)

The Lord removed our heart of stone

and put in a heart of flesh, a sensitive one

“And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9)

Have we asked ourselves what Jesus Christ would do?

“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers are few.” (Matthew 9:36-37)

You and I have received sight so that we can see the need

and be the Lord’s outstretched arm in giving

“If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit?” (James 2:15-16)

Where is the greater scarcity: in our hearts or around us? Is there scarcity in our hearts?
What will we do today?
We can begin by keeping a word from God at hand and some food in our suitcase, bag, or backpack, so that we do not overlook the next need we encounter.

_**Remember to stop by the Songbook

May God continue to bless you, and may you continue to have an excellent day in Christ Jesus!