"And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward."
Matthew 10:42
This verse always reminds me of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss. If you haven't read it, I recommend it, and if you have, you will recall that the Grinch, as he is stealing all the presents and things from the Who's houses, sees a little Who-girl "who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water." She asks him what he is doing. He lies about it, and then he gets her a drink and sends her to bed. And that is a clue, even just partway through the story, that the Grinch isn't all bad. :)
Likewise, our service to others, especially to children, is a clue that we aren't all bad. :) We all have bad parts of ourselves, but as we serve others, we help expand our own hearts and souls, so that we have more room to invite God in.
I also like the fact that the water is cold. That shows us that some thought was put into it. When we show love for the people around us, especially children, the little details count. Grumbling to ourselves and saying they should be grateful for what they get kind of ruins the spirit of the whole thing. The idea is to get people what they want... to surprise and delight them with our gifts of service and love. And if we think about it, I think we will see that God gives in this way as well. Of course bad things happen to us all and we are all tested, but when God gives us gifts and blessings, we are blessed overwhelmingly and in miraculous ways, with amazing attention to detail and to who we are, and what we love.
Today, let's remember the cups of cold water that we can give to others. Even if we can give nothing else, let's give that. And let's remember that we aren't all bad, and work to expand our hearts and our souls--to be better, and to love others more completely. :)
Matthew 10:42
This verse always reminds me of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss. If you haven't read it, I recommend it, and if you have, you will recall that the Grinch, as he is stealing all the presents and things from the Who's houses, sees a little Who-girl "who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water." She asks him what he is doing. He lies about it, and then he gets her a drink and sends her to bed. And that is a clue, even just partway through the story, that the Grinch isn't all bad. :)
I also like the fact that the water is cold. That shows us that some thought was put into it. When we show love for the people around us, especially children, the little details count. Grumbling to ourselves and saying they should be grateful for what they get kind of ruins the spirit of the whole thing. The idea is to get people what they want... to surprise and delight them with our gifts of service and love. And if we think about it, I think we will see that God gives in this way as well. Of course bad things happen to us all and we are all tested, but when God gives us gifts and blessings, we are blessed overwhelmingly and in miraculous ways, with amazing attention to detail and to who we are, and what we love.
Today, let's remember the cups of cold water that we can give to others. Even if we can give nothing else, let's give that. And let's remember that we aren't all bad, and work to expand our hearts and our souls--to be better, and to love others more completely. :)
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