The
Matterhorn |
Matthew 25:35, KJV:
"For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: ----"
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For the last 60 years I have read that portion of Matthew 25:35 and did not understand the full responsibility put upon us by those words. Father wasn't telling us to give a wandering waif a candy bar. He wasn't telling us to slip a peanut butter sandwich into the hands of some hungry stranger. No. Father was asking us to deliver a feast, a full course dinner. |
Back in those days "meat" was not served at every
meal.
When you served "meat" it was a special event.
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That is what we have been asked to provide; Father was asking us to prepare a banquet. Thanks to the goodness of God I have been blessed many times -- when I was truly hungred -- with meat at another man's table. As some of you know that was because for eight years I was homeless. At one point my circumstances were so low that I was eating potato peelings that I had stolen from a neighbor's garbage can. I firmly believe that makes me an expert on what a feast might be to someone who would really appreciate it. If another bum had sat down and shared his only bologna sandwich with me, 50/50, that would have been a feast that brought tears of gratitude to my eyes for years of remembrance. Right after that perennial hunger period of my life two families separately insisted that I share their meal with them. I went first to one of them at lunch, then that evening I was taken to the other home for supper. For lunch we had spaghetti. For supper we had spaghetti. When they compared notes and discovered I had received spaghetti at both homes they were aghast at having served the same main dish to me. But I tell you in all truth that I could have had spaghetti yet a third time and still have loved it because it was not the spaghetti that made those meals a feast, it was the honor of being an honored guest in those homes. To this day I cannot think of spaghetti without thinking of those two families that gave me meat when I was an hungred. During the last three years of my being homeless there were times when I was suddenly flush with cash, sometimes an extra dollar, sometimes ten. And at times like these I would pray that Father would send someone to me to share my wealth with. He never failed to send someone at those times. I remember one such time very vividly. All day I had waited, and no one appeared. That evening about 8:00 or 9:00 I was going to Wendy's to feast on my own evening meal. Just as I approached the parking lot, this bum approached me, asking me to bring a cup of coffee out to him when I emerged. With all my pleading he still would not enter in. "The last time I did that, the management threatened me with arrest if I ever came back." Consequently, I went in and ordered a full meal to go -- with coffee too -- and brought it out to him. Oh the joy I felt as he accepted my meal, as much feast as I had to give. |
Is Your Insurance
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Interestingly enough, during those same three years only once did anyone approach me when I did not have a sudden bounty of money to share. I remember the circumstances quite vividly. His name was James Dollarhyde. I had gained place in a store, watching it during the day in exchange for the privilege of offering my own talents to those who came in. One day as I gazed out the window this bum came by on the street. Immediately I felt the urge to go introduce myself. At once I bounded to the door and glanced at his retreating back. He limped, but he was also almost beyond the range of my turf. I started to ignore the urge to call to him, but the impulse came back, stronger than ever. He paused at the corner and looked both ways, then both ways again. By that time I had caught up with him. "Won't you come into my shop and rest a moment?" I beseeched him. He never paused, but turned at once and followed me into the store. I sat him down and got him a glass of warm water. We talked for a moment. He revealed that he had walked 34 miles to get there from the airport, and was looking for his lost sister. Her name had changed and he knew it not; he had no idea how to find her. Being an expert in such matters I laid out the steps he needed to take to find her if she was still in the area. Then I suggested that we bathe his feet after such a long walk. Water was brought forth and we soaked his feet, then bathed them. For a feast all I had was some cheese crackers; I gave them to him as he revealed more of his history. He had been wandering the streets of Los Angeles when a couple stopped to talk with him. In a matter of minutes they had learned that he longed to find his sister in Arkansas, and had bought the airplane ticket for him.
Strange, how strange and reassuring that two sets of strangers had instantly known they were to help this man. After wrestling his boots back on he was ready to head back out on his quest. He returned the following day to let me know that he had indeed found his sister using the steps I had told him to. To this day I know that I entertained an angel that day. the end |
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Discover these great essays in the following folders
Family
* Inspirational * Helpful
* Social
War
* Freedom * Money
* Superb Essays from 1850
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And then, we have these essays in the GENERAL ESSAYS category which don't seem to fit anywhere in particular: By Reason Alone.. That Roosevelt can do no wrong is Burroughs’s opinion; and that Burroughs is always right is Roosevelt’s opinion. Both are agreed that animals do not reason. They assert that all animals below man are automatons and perform actions only of two sorts—mechanical and reflex—and that in such actions no reasoning enters at all. They believe that man is the only animal capable of reasoning and that ever does reason. *** No man is an island, is an old saying that was meant to say that no man stood alone, but needed help from others, and gave strength to others. But, here is the story of an island that was a man. In the short history of time, there was one island that was a monument to a single man. It starts out like a fairy tale.. Once upon a time there was a barren island. This almost insignificant little man was sent off to this barren island and turned it into a mirror of his soul and the fulfillment of his vision. One stick at a time he turned his barren island into a work of lasting, world-renowned beauty and peace, an island where the nightingales sang songs of singular wonder ne'er found elsewhere since this little man set down roots on a barren island, and bloomed. ** Most of man's dreams are based on false assumptions. We dream of loping free with the wolves, but really don't like fleas. We dream of the security that lambs must feel, but don't want to be sheared. We dream of being lions, but gag at eating raw meat. We dream of being loved, but can't see the way or take the time to make ourselves lovable. Was There EVER A Man On The Moon? How far can reason alone take us from the beaten path of acknowledged history? *** A Definition Of History by Leo Tolstoy gives us yet another peg to hang our ratiocinations upon. ** ** Charity never faileth, especially when our hearts fill to overflowing with charity. ** Global Warming freezes thermometers ** Man, the Meanie of the Planet. This is a high resolution pdf document so you can print it out and hang it on the wall. Be sure to RIGHT Click the link, and save it to your computer. ** Are we forever Doomed? An essayic poem by Rudyard Kipling * I see Grandpa. He's calling out for me. God Does Not Fit -- by Lance Nalley * SOCIALISM, Slavery and Tyranny by R. J. Harris ** Deliberate Fraud: Evolutionists resort to the lowest forms of fraud in order to gain more believers. ** When Theories fail.. Petty science teachers can rage until doomsday that no two snowflakes are identical, but until every snowflake that has ever fallen or ever shall fall is matched against every other snowflake that has already fallen or ever shall try to fall -- the identical snowflake theory remains just a theory resting in lolly-gagging land.
** A Break From Boredom -- by Lance Nalley ** INVICTUS... Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit, from pole to pole ** The gods and Heroes of the Ancient World ** Staunch, steadfast, loyal and true. What better friend can a man have? *** The House By The Side Of The Road ** Friendship, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. A ruddy drop of manly blood The surging sea outweighs, The world uncertain comes and goes, The lover rooted stays. I fancied he was fled, And, after many a year, Glowed unexhausted kindliness Like daily sunrise there. My careful heart was free again, -- O friend, my bosom said, Through thee alone the sky is arched, Through thee the rose is red, All things through thee take nobler form, And look beyond the earth, And is the mill-round of our fate A sun-path in thy worth. Me too thy nobleness has taught To master my despair; The fountains of my hidden life Are through thy friendship fair. ** *** A thing of beauty
is a joy forever: The Moon on Six Pence Uncle Bob was an unforgettable character who traveled the world on bargain rates and golden smiles! ** The Almost Good Housekeeping monograph is a good excuse for the harried homemaker to put off until tomorrow all those burdens of yesteryear, and quit trying so hard. ** Sex before the Sax: The first thing I learned about Lois was she had a label for being froward. Kids at school said she had had sex with Alfred. Not long after I arrived, another boy came forward to admit he had made a score at her door. ** Old Rattler, and the King Snake. Down and Dirty with Darwin Evolutionists are now feeling so battered that university professors advise their students not to discuss this theory with non-believers. "Sounds like a religious cult to me," say some. Pleasures of the open fire: The Fireplace Revisited. Don't Make Us
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