PREAMBLE

PREAMBLE

“Teach a child in the way he should go;

And when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

These words taken from Proverb 22:6 speak loudly of the responsibility of parents and caregivers to the children entrusted to them. In these modern days with the advent of such a large and diverse selection of electronic gadgets, our children are bombarded with so many distractions from every direction that it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with their spiritual development.

We as adults, often overwhelmed by the demands for survival, are guilty of neglecting our responsibilities of ensuring our children’s growth. We are losing sight of the fact that at this stage children are at their most receptive phase for absorbing information and unless we make an effort to help them, they are likely to acquire wrong information from other sources.

I believe no one is better equipped or better placed to do the job than the parent or the caregiver. By making use of every opportunity to teach the words of Jesus Christ, to read the Holy Bible as well as by setting personal examples we can build our children’s faith and offer them alternative examples to live by. In this way we can prepare them to deal with the many and varied temptations they will face in life as they go forward.

These stories under the banner “The Old Lady and Ana” grew out of a discussion I had with my cousin Starr Sabga during which we lamented that our children are not being exposed to reading and discussing the bible as we were. We both felt that as a result of this we are missing a very important opportunity to expose them to God’s words and running the risk of losing them.

The stories are strictly my interpretation of selected passages from the Bible based on my Christian education and on my own life experience. They are meant for the younger child, as examples of how we may use day to day experiences to learn about God’s word. They are by no means exhaustive but I trust they may serve to get other parents and caregivers to do the same.

If this happens, then I would consider myself fully rewarded.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

28. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-2 CORINTHIANS 9:7-12 (Generosity)

Little Ana approached her grandmother with a question that has bothered her for some time, and asked her:
“Gramma, I know that God expects us all to try to help as much people as we can. But how do we know how much is enough?”
The old lady, recognizing this as a genuine concern of her grand child, beckoned her to sit next to her as she opened her trusted bible;
“My dear child, generosity has and will always be one of the pillars of God’s teachings and expectation from every one of us. Over and over we find references in the Holy Bible that the Almighty expects us to share our blessings with our less fortunate and needy brothers. The reference I like most is from St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 9, Verses 7 – 12, let me read Verse 7 to you:”

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give,
not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

“God’s words are direct and unequivocal. He expects you to give freely from your heart and not be guided or feel committed to please others. He stresses he loves a person who gives willingly. You notice he expects you to give what your heart tells you to give and not to give what the church expects to collect from you. This is between you, your heart, and your God.”
Not content with this reply, Ana asked:
“But gramma how will we know what God really expects from us?”
The old lady nodded affirmatively and continued to read verses 8 and 9:

And God is able to bless you abundantly,
so that in all things at all times, having all that you need,
you will abound in every good work.
As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;

their righteousness endures forever.”

“God promised he will bless us abundantly so that we will always have everything we need at all times and that we will prosper in every thing we do. Because we freely give to the poor and needy, our good name and appreciation with him will last forever.”
The old lady paused to allow the young child to assimilate the information and then continued to read verses 10 and 11:

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food
will also supply and increase your store of seed
and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
You will be enriched in every way,
so that you can be generous on every occasion,
and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.


“You see my dear Ana, God makes it abundantly clear that he will supply you with all your needs to prosper and succeed and become enriched so that you may become more generous to others. He went further to say that it is by your generosity that you give thanks to God.”
The old lady waited for a short time and then continued to read verse 12:

This service that you perform is not only supplying
the needs of the Lord’s people,
but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.


“This is strong and clear statement from God. When you provide help and supply the needs of the poor and needy, you are not only helping God’s people, but you also giving abundant thanks to God, the Almighty.”
Ana, by now fully satisfied by her grand mother’s explanation, was about to get up when she was gently restrained as the old lady made a final observation:
“Now my dear child, you will understand the meaning of the words contained in Gospel according to Mathew Chapter 23, Verse 40:”

Truly I tell you, whatever you did
for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,
You did for me.


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