A LOAN TO THE LORD

“He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given” (Proverbs 19:17).

          A father gave his little boy 50 cents and told him he could use it any way he wanted. Later when Dad asked about it, the boy told him that he had lent it to someone.

          “Who did you lend it to?” he asked. The boy answered, “I gave it to a poor man on the street because he looked hungry.”

          “Oh, that was foolish. You’ll never get it back,” replied the father. “But Daddy, the Bible says that people who give to the poor lend to the Lord.”

          The father was so pleased with the son’s reply that he gave him another 50 cents. “See,” said the son. “I told you I would get it back—only I didn’t think it would be so soon!”

          You may give without loving but you can’t love without giving. Henry Bosch, A Loan to the Lord, quoted in Our Daily Bread (April, 2, 2006).