Saturday, July 14, 2007

i received an email with this story not too long ago. and i felt that this really applies to us, in some way or another.

Several years ago, a new preacher moved to Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, ' You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.' Then he thought, ' Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount ? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet. 'When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the quarter to the driver and said : ' Here, you gave me too much change.' The driver with a smile replied : ' Aren't you the new preacher in town? I have been thinking lately about going to worship somewhere. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church this Sunday. ' When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said : ' Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter. '

you see, the preacher knew that i would be wrong to keep the quarter, even though it's such a small amount. however, human nature comes into picture. the human nature which has been dirtied by the works of the devil. He grumbles that the 'bus company gets too much fare'. in our world, have we ever complained that we are receiving too much salary? but when transport costs, food&beverage costs and goods & services tax increases, we grumble. we complain, we write in to newspapers. When the ministers pay increased, flip open the forum section of any newspaper publishing within the week and you would find many letters addressing a pay rise. even after their pay rise, they are receiving less pay than they possibly could in the private sector. that is one problem which i feel many people are 'suffering' from.

today, what is holding you back in your walk with God? No one is perfect, yes, but we can strive to be perfect. we can start with the little things in our lives. taking things for granted, complacency, etc. slowly, steadily, you will realise a great transformation in your life. not many have succeeded in turning from their wicked ways, but through success stories, you realise that all their work to change has paid off many fold. our walk with God is definately not a simple one, but is that going to hold you back? you may dislike a certain change in your life, a certain restriction in your life, but is that going to hold you back? make everyone god's ambassador. megalife. are we going to just sit back and not fufill this, which has been given to us to fufill?

let us start with nubian gents. let us reach out to all our friends. we may get 99% rejections, but when finally the 1% appears, you will realise that all your work has paid off. like for me, was it easter service or sth, i asked my classmates who were non-christian, and sadly, none of them were willing to come. i believe that the most convenient excuse we receive is 'i have something on'? however, let us continue to reach out. let us continue to spread the love of Christ.

take care and i hope to see ya'll next week!

jae.