BLESSED IN ORDER TO BLESS
«The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed» (Luke 4:18).
ALLAN WENT UP on the platform. Up until now, everything is normal: a young man going up on the platform to say a few words to an Adventist congregation. However, nothing in that scene was normal; rather, I would describe it as a miracle because Allan was a young drug addict. We had met him a few months prior through the church’s initiative for homeless people in the Juan Santa Maria Park in Alajuela (remember Marta from the August 18 reading?). Now, a missionary was introducing him to the members to ask for their help to place him in a rehabilitation center. That day, Allan was sad, dejected, but that was the last time we saw him like that. Five months later, he left the rehab center drug-free. During his stay in the center, we called him several times to encourage him to keep going, but oftentimes it was he who encouraged us with his words.
When he left the center, he went to Santa Cruz de Guanacaste, where he works with his mother in a restaurant, far from the streets where he used to live, and growing in dignity with an honest job. He has communicated to us his desire to visit Alajuela on the weekends to help us in our ministry with the homeless. He is known by many of the young indigents who use drugs and knows that his witness will be a great impact for those who were once his friends.
Allan’s case makes me realize how God acts. He blesses us, not so that we may keep that blessing in a selfish manner, but to share it with others. We receive to give; that is the law of love that God puts in our hearts.
When God called Abraham, the great patriarch, He told him He was going to give him great blessings. What were those blessings for? Was he to enjoy them selfishly and idly? No, of course not. God immediately added why: «You will be a blessing to others» (Genesis 12:2, NLT). That is the miracle He is working with Allan and that He wants to work with you and with me. He wants us to be mindful of the blessings He gives us so that we may benefit others with them.
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Take From: Daily Devotions for Women’s 2020
«One Day at a Time»
From: Patricia Muñoz Bertozzi
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Magda Sanz T