A Thought Provoking Letter from a Child

Like many people, our family partners with Compassion International to support a young child. We have done this for years and it is the very least we can do as we have so much compared to others within this world. Like we do every year, we send away a bit extra to Compassion so our child can enjoy a Christmas gift. To be honest with you, it has never really impacted me much before as it seems so simple to send away that little bit of extra money that would have been spent on a McDonald's run or a Little Nicki's cheesesteak and pizza. But then I got the letter and it has messed me up since...

Here is what it simply read; "Auld Family, I greet you in the name of Jesus Christ. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Thank you so much for the Christmas gift which you sent me. I received 21650 shillings and used it to buy a shirt, a pair of shorts and shoes. May God bless you."

Since reading that letter, I can't shake the following verse from my head "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Luke 12:48b)

I am currently processing what it means to be generous. I feel like we do OK and are living in obedience to what God requires per His Word, but it may be time to step out in faith a bit more. As one who lives in North America with a roof over my head, food on my table, clothes on my back and the list goes on... what does God require of me. What does God require of you? What does God require of His church?

One day I'll have to stand before God and give account for how I lived my life including how I managed what He has entrusted to me financially. I sure don't want to stand before Him and have Him ask why I felt I had to have or even deserved that nice car or extra square footage in my home while children died of hunger without a stitch of clothing on their back. So I'm thankful our little guy was able to get a new shirt, shorts and shoes but I'm thinking the gift of his letter back to us was worth just as much if not more if it stirs me to become more generous towards the things that touch the very heart of God!