Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher.” … When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
— from Luke 14. 10-14
Forget false modesty,
or a clever set-up for a public compliment:
this is about losing yourself.
You can go through life asking what’s in it for you—
seeking thanks, payback, recognition—
and be disappointed—in this ungrateful world,
and, face it— in yourself.
Or you can forget yourself,
and look for ways to give, unrewarded,
because giving is wondrous,
and be constantly surprised.
Find the joy in unreturnable favors,
thankless jobs, unrewarded gifts, wasted blessings.
Stop trying to manage your return
like an anxious shopkeeper,
and give everything away.
Then everything becomes a gift.
Once it becomes a joy to you to see the needy receive,
all of life is an invitation to a banquet.
Always, the head table is in the servant’s quarters.
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
_______________________________
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight@hotmail.com