One Person

If I can make one person smile,

If I can keep one person from hunger,

If I can give one person a shelter,

My job is done my friend, my job is done.

If I can stop one person from anger,

If I can help one child from sadness;

If I can bring one little laughter,

Yes, my job is done.

If I can carry one person’s burden,

If I can lift one ounce from his shoulder,

Yes, I made his  life so much better;

My job is done.

 

If I can give one person water,

If I can teach one word of wisdom;

Yes, indeed my friend my Job is done.

The rest shall follow,

Tomorrows comes and go,

One person becomes two;

Two follows three,

One is enough for now;

To make my soul free.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18

Image credit: mysticsaint.info, irismin.org, lunchun.org, wordprss.com

Faith without works

It is easy to talk about your religion, what rituals you practice, or preach to others how they can be saved, but sometimes we need to stop and ask ourselves one simple question “am I really practicing what I am preaching? “

One of my favorite quotes on the book of James 2:14-18 teaches as follows.

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he hath faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or a sister is naked and destitute of daily food and one of you says to them “depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you did not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself if it does not have work is dead. But someone will say “You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works."

When we encounter a person who is in need of something we can provide, it might be easier to wish them well and walk away. We might even say to them “I will pray for you and I am sure god will provide” But the truth is God has already provided. He provided our presence in the person’s most desperate moment, and he is waiting for us to be willing to help him/her. Imagine the disappointment on god’s face when we handed back to him the person he gave us to help.  We were given a chance, but we blew it.

 

 Image credit: hardcitizen.com

Before we hand back to god the person who is in need, we should always ask ourselves how can I help this person? Sometimes we may not be able to help the person fully, but any help is better that no help at all. It is  like a weak person carrying many grocery bags and struggling to make it to the car. What happens if we carry just one bag for that person? How much easier his walk to the car be? How about if we carry two bags, and some might even afford to carry all of the bags. Either way it means with our help this person made it to the car a lot easier than he could manage on his own. 

Let’s not let anyone come up to us and say “show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works.” Instead let’s be prepared to say “I have faith and I have works which one do you want to see first? “

                                          Image credit: Swagstineblogspot.com

I've never met you

I never met you,

But my soul knows who you are;             

I hear the cries of your heart

The longing of your soul.

I never met you, 

But somehow I know you.

I feel the sweetness of your dreams,                           

And the sad truth when you're awake.  

Image credit desktopnexus.com

Yes, I have never seen you,                                 

But I could see the pain through your eyes;

I feel the wetness of your tears.

I never hugged you,

Though I feel the coldness of your body;

Your longing for human contacts.

 

Image Credit: Patti Seigh

I never heard your voice,

Somehow I can hear you begging;

Begging for attention and love.

Why do I know you so well?

But I never met you?

Why do I feel your pain?

Answer me, my dear;

Was I supposed to find you?

Was I supposed to help you?

Was I supposed to love you?

"We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He
who does not love his brother abides in death." 1 John3:15

All they need is Love

Imagine not having anyone to love you. Imagine wishing for somebody to come and give you a warm hug and tell you everything is going to be all right. Imagine longing to see a smile, just one smile to warm your soul that has been neglected for so long. Imagine wishing you have someone to listen to you, just one person who really cares about what you have to say without any judgment, but only love. Imagine wishing to be noticed just only once.

Image Credit: Tom Stone

 It has been so long since anyone told that homeless lady her eyes are beautiful, or she has a great face or what a lovely smile she has. People throw money at her without even looking at her for a moment. Even though she is begging for money, because she needs it to survive, what she is really aching for is love. She wants someone to love her even for a moment. She wants to be notice. She wants to feel like a woman again.

 Image Credit Lee Jeffries

How about the old guy on the street? He used to be a wise man people used to want to hear what he would have to say.  He wishes for a moment someone would sit next to him and ask him for advice or care enough to listen to his stories.  He wonders if he is going to die without sharing his riches. Yes, he is a rich man full of wisdom, full of grace, full of stories that could change a person’s life, but on the outside, no one would know it except for the ones who cared enough to see his soul.

Image credit: Katie Pitsis

These people want to love more than money, a hug is more than food, a smile more than water. All they need is love, love, love…

Let’s do our best to make it our purpose each day to find one person who needs the simplest thing we can give. 

“Beloved let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows god. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. “1 John 4:7-8