The Gospel X Giving To The Needy
Tired from the stress of the day, and having to hop from one bus to another while being security conscious, I grudgingly stepped into the Keke Marwa that was to take me to the next bus stop. Thankfully, there were two passengers seated so we didn’t have to spend time waiting for the other passengers.
I had barely settled in when this woman asked if I was going to her bus stop, I told her no then she proceeded to plead that I pay off a part of her transport fare. Ordinarily, I would turn down such a request, but recently, I’ve found myself becoming more considerate of other people and willing to part with my money when there is a need for it and I can afford it.
I agreed and faced my front, I wasn’t interested in conversing with her because I was tired and still had a long way home. I dropped off mid-way to continue my journey with another Keke Marwa, which would drop me closer to my destination (home).
As I made my way through the crowd and proceeded to cross the expressway, I remembered the woman in the Keke Marwa, and a thought crossed my heart about how giving to somebody like that brings them closer to God.
As I reminisced about the possibility, the holy spirit whispered to me that it was not the complete truth. Giving can bring a man close to God or to know God but that is not the same as preaching the gospel to that person and should not replace it.
For example, when God provides the sun and rain for everyone or gives gifts to people, or performs signs and wonders, it is not because he wants them saved, it is first in his nature as the creator of the universe to give gifts to his creation and it does not replace his desire to get them saved.
However, I say to you, love your enemy, bless the one who curses you, do something wonderful for the one who hates you, and respond to the very ones who persecute you by praying for them.
For that will reveal your identity as children of your heavenly Father. He is kind to all by bringing the sunrise to warm and rainfall to refresh whether a person does what is good or evil. Matthew 5:44–45
Giving gifts to the needy, believers, and unbelievers is good and scriptural, but that should not be all.
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done. Proverbs 19:17
It is required of us as believers to take it a step deeper and preach the goodness of the gospel. It is also pertinent to note that every day is not Christmas with God, literally, God won’t always give you what you ask for every time you ask for it. He gives his children what he knows they need, not because they ask for it. Asking for it is our own responsibility as a child.
The next time you meet a beggar on the road, or your unbeliever friend asks you for money or anything, don’t hesitate to give them, not because you think it’s a means of bringing them to Christ but because it is your responsibility to give to the needy.
Be kind to meet both their material need and eternal need as well.
- Keke Maruwa — Tricycle
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