"For I desire mercy, not
sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6
NIV)
How good we feel about ourselves when we offer our
meagre
monetary sacrifices to our Maker each month. I have to wonder however, if those
sacrifices are meaningful to God!
Think, for a moment, about our world. It contains
billions of inhabitants, and most of them are living below the poverty level.
Are we making a difference in these lives? Are our measly sacrifices reaching
them at a level they can understand? Are we truly showing them mercy?
Are we really acknowledging God through our offerings?
"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the
least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40 NIV)
Let's take for example the problem of obtaining clean
water, a luxury we hardly have to worry about in the Western world. Do we even
realize that nearly one billion of this world's population doesn't have access
to a source of clean, safe drinking water?
How would we enjoy drinking from a lake, river or pond
where livestock routinely drink, and sometimes even relieve themselves? The body
of water is
also often
used for laundry and bathing, and may contain discarded trash, and sometimes,
even human waste. Would we
enjoy a cup of water from this water source?
And this may be the only water source for miles
around, meaning that it is necessary to go a fair distance to obtain this
polluted water! North Americans use an average of 350 litres of clean water a
day, while many African families subsist on a mere 20 litres, and this, often,
from adulterated sources. No wonder half of the world's hospital beds are filled
by patients agonizing from
water-related and sanitation-related diseases.
Do we take time to even pray for them?
Besides providing clean water, there are many other
worthwhile endeavours that would help those living in such dire need. If only we
could make a difference to even just a few!
Now we need to ask ourselves: What kind of sacrifice
can we offer to our Heavenly Father that He would truly delight in?
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But
the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV)
Excuse me! There is some
dirt in
my glass of water!
Hmmm… yummi!!!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.