January 29, 2012

 

On this Stewardship Sunday, let me simply share with you this story by Joseph B. Underwood in his book entitled “By Love Compelled.”

 Giving Our Best To God

 

A missionary woman in India met a Hindu woman one morning to whom she had tried to witness several times. She was carrying two Hindu children in her arms. One was a beautiful, intelligent child, healthy and promising. The older child had a crippled, twisted body; and her mind was just as deficient as her body. The missionary asked the Hindu woman where she was going and received the astounding reply: “I’m on my way to the river to offer one of my children to our gods as a sacrifice for my sin.”

Once again the missionary witnessed to the woman, but to no avail.

Some days later she again met the woman. This time she was carrying only the deformed child. Anxiously, the missionary inquired about the other child only to hear the reply: “Why, don’t you remember? When I saw you last, I told you I was on my way to the river to offer one of my children to the gods.”

“Oh, my friend!” cried the missionary. “If you had to offer one of your children, why did you not throw this child into the river—this one who never will be well or intelligent?”

In utter astonishment, the Hindu replied: “Well, maybe that is the way you do in your religion; but in our religion, we give the best that we have to our gods.”

Today, I pray that you will ask yourself: “What can I give the Lord for all the good things he has given to me?” (Psalm 116:12 NCV)