Shortly after World War II came to a close, Europe began picking up the pieces. Much of the Old Country had been ravaged by war and was in ruins. Perhaps the saddest sight of all was that of little orphaned children starving in the streets of those war-torn cities.
Early one morning, an American soldier was making his way back to his barracks in London. As he turned the corner in his jeep, he spotted a little lad with his nose oppressed to the window of a pastry shop. Inside, the cook was kneading dough for a fresh batch of doughnuts. The hungry boy stared in silence, watching every move. The soldier pulled his jeep to the curb, stopped, got out, and walked quietly over to where the little fellow was standing; through the steamed-up window, he could see the mouth-watering morsels as they were being pulled from the over, piping hot. The boy salivated and released a slight groan as he watched the cook place them ever so carefully into the glass-enclosed case.
The soldier’s heart went out to the nameless orphan as e stood beside him.
“Son, would you like some of those?”
The boy was startled. “Well, yes, I would.”
The American stepped inside and bought a dozen doughnuts, put the in a bag, and walked back to where the lad was standing in the foggy cold of the London morning. He smiled, held out the bag, and said simply, “Here you are.”
As he turned to walk away, he felt a tug on his coat. He looked back and heard the child ask quietly, “Mister, are you God?”
There’s an old saying that says, “Money talks.” It does. It speaks volumes about our priorities, about the things we think are most important, about our values. Money never speaks more clearly than when we use it to minister to someone in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. When that happens, money sends forth a radiant, powerful message about the love of Christ as we demonstrate our Christian faith in action – and faith is never faith unless is action.
God’s Word is clear: “Whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, we are to do it for the glory of God.”
As we consider the resources which God has entrusted to us; abilities, skills, time, money, energy; how does our use of the bring glory to God?
Remember the young boy’s question of a man who was kind and generous to him: “Mister, are you God?” God’s children reflect God and God’s behavior in such a way that people actually experience God through them. There is no greater glory given to God than that his children share God’s DNA.