Sweet Ideas To Do

Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

Matthew 7:12

Ever wonder whether God is asking you to meet a need? Maybe you feel unsure whether your efforts would really be helpful, thinking, Surely, God, there must be someone more talented or well known who is ready to jump in and minister. They would be more effective than me.

Well, we can let today’s verse help us put those doubts to rest. If God brings someone to mind who needs help, we do not have to pray about it for five hours to discern whether He’s telling us to do something. He is!

If we are God’s child, then we have the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16), which means His giving nature is in us if we’ll only let it thrive and express itself.

Whatever we can do with what He has given us, He tells us to just do it. Maybe we are making soup for our family—we can make a double batch to share. Maybe you cannot prepare a whole meal, so you choose a couple of favorite snacks to share, or you write a note of encouragement. Maybe you can help with yard work, cleaning, or transportation, or invite their children over to play.

There’s no time like the present to offer what you have. After all, you are the only one who can offer what God gave to you to give. We need to take seriously our own gifts from the Lord and see them as resources to share.

I will never forget when I was going through sixteen unsweet weeks of chemotherapy. Sweet Michelle from my daughter’s school, whom I did not know very well, put a big cooler on my front porch and organized meals for our family. Even though my own appetite was limited, I felt so comforted that my family was well fed, and I felt more like a mother providing for them again. When someone gave us a gift card for pizza, Kali really loved that!

We all have different styles of giving, and God can use all of them. We can begin by giving as we would like to receive. Pretty simple!

Doing to others what we would like in return is Jesus’ style! And it’s a great way to keep moving and growing in faith. Let’s not waste too much time just thinking about it.