Daily Reading: 3 September

(from www.christianaid.org.uk)

Sharing joy and love.

Something to read

May our barns be filled with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields, and may our cattle be heavy with young.

- Psalm 144:13-14, from full reading of Psalm 144:9-15.

Something to think about

I’m always amazed by the love and joy that is found among those who have very little. A recent holiday to Thailand, particularly to some of the poorest areas, revealed to me the stark contrast between the attitudes of those who have little and those who have much.

Often, if we consider ourselves to have much, we realise our poverty in other senses when we are surrounded by those with little wealth and material belongings. I encountered such warmth, hospitality, love and genuine joy that is often not found among the so-called ‘rich’ or wealthy.

The psalmist speaks of the desire of the human heart to always want more. Often, those who want more only want it for the sake of having more: there is only so much a full barn can do for one person, and only so many sheep that can be eaten at any one time. If we want more, do we want more for the right reason? As Christians, having more only makes sense so that everyone might have their fair share. Otherwise it is simply greed.

Something to do

What do you have too much of? Is there a way today in which you can share something you have with others? Practice an act of sacrificial giving.

Something to pray

Dear God, thank you for your innumerable blessings. Help me to desire the right things in my life, and to share what I have with others.

Amen.

Today’s contributor is the Rev Jarel Robinson-Brown, who, at the time of writing, is a Methodist Minister serving in the London District, Lesnes Abbey Circuit.