There's Life Within You

This was one of those school days when nothing made sense. No matter what was said, nothing seemed to compute. Let me share a bit with you. Having been led to Deuteronomy 14 and seeing the headings, I was a bit disappointed. I was looking for something uplifting, something strong, and all I saw were the Bible headings ‘Clean and Unclean Food’, which spoke of what animals to eat and what not to eat and how they were to be prepared. The other heading was about ‘Tithes’. Yes, I was not one bit excited and simply waited. I knew, that I was being shown the section on Tithes, but for the life of me, I couldn’t understand what was happening. To make matters despairingly worse, a poem from elementary school days was brought to mind and I began repeating it. I have quoted it here for you.

In the heart of a seed, buried deep so deep.

A dear little plant lay fast asleep

“Wake”, said the sunshine, “And creep to the light”.

“Wake.” Said the voice of the raindrop bright. The little plant heard and it rose to see, What a wonderful outside world might be.

I ask you, what does this poem have to do with Deuteronomy 14: 28 – 29? Yet I was shown one of the most beautiful life-offering pictures that one can give to another. I now give this picture to you.

Just look at the poem again. In the heart of the seed was a life waiting to be woken up, waiting to be released, waiting to be drawn out, waiting to receive all that was there to be received. It took the voice of both, sunshine and raindrop, to call out the dormant, hidden, buried life in that seed, to come out and see the beauty, joy and marvel there was in the world outside of itself.

I then saw the lives of the widows, the aliens, the fatherless and the Levites as lives being lived, yes, but lives missing the joy and celebration of life, which each life possessed. In the Bible verses, we are told how a time was mandated for those who were blessed with gifts from the Lord, to share them with those who had none. The intention was to bring satisfaction to them, as they were invited to freely share God’s, sunshine and raindrop, through another.

All I see is a continuation of this beautiful life-offering picture that goes from seed, to Israelite, to you and to me. I strongly believe that the Lord calls us at His will, to be, sunshine and raindrop to some poor ones, lifting them out of their depression, dejection and disheartenment, in order to share some of the beauty that’s outside of themselves. Who is, the poor? The poor is you, and the poor is me. The poor is my brother, sister and neighbour. In other words, the poor is anyone who, for whatever reason, has a life buried in himself or herself. It is the one who will only know the beauty of that hidden God-given life within them, when some obedient servant of God, becomes the sunshine and raindrops to that life.

Then the LORD your God may bless you in all the works of your hands. Deuteronomy 14: 29b.

Amen!