A Time to Give

John chapter 12 records an incident which happened just days before the crucifixion of Jesus. Mary, the sister of Lazarus, "took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. . . . But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, 'Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor people?' Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. Therefore Jesus said, 'Let her alone. . . For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.' " (verses 3-8)

Aside from the beauty of the extravagant love toward Jesus shown by Mary and the hypocritical attitude of Judas, the statement in that section of scripture which always leaps out at me is that the poor are always going to be with us. As the story is recorded in Mark, Jesus adds the statement, "and whenever you wish you can do good to them." (14:7)

Poverty is certainly nothing new. Because of a variety of circumstances -- death of a spouse or parents, disability, a generational spirit of poverty, etc. -- there have always been those who have depended on others just to get by. And it has always been, and always will be, the job of those with resources to assist them. While we are to be good stewards, we are also instructed to "give to him who asks of you." (Matthew 5:42)

As the Easter season draws to a close, I can think of no better way to honor Jesus in our lives than by a renewed effort to bless others. With our money, with our time; we should not fear being taken advantage of, we must remember Jesus commands us to give.

For anyone looking for a way to help in the West Plains area, I suggest making a call to our local homeless shelter, Samaritan Outreach Center. They are needing donations of food for their pantry, but also volunteers to give even a few hours a month to help in the office. The phone number is 417-257-7792.

Special observances like Easter and Christmas tend to bring out the best in all of us, but it should be our job to take these times of inspiration and let them propel us to give on a daily basis, because poverty doesn't stop after the holidays are over.