(743) Lending to the Lord

A friend told me this story.

Amy is a homemaker. Over the years she has learned to trust God more. Starting with giving up her full time job when her children were born. She invests her savings by sending them(not big amounts) to missionaries. Her savings are in heaven, where moths could not devour. A little radical, don't you think?

Two years ago, with a part-time job, she saved up one thousand seven hundred dollars. It was ear marked for a pair of air tickets to Kunming. She wanted to visit a missionary couple there. Half her wardrobe was filled with warm clothes her size in preparation for the trip. Her neighbour was having a tough time financially, being behind in house installment payments and needing some dental work done. Amy prayed about her neighbour's needs and God seemed to tell her to help with her thousand seven. After reading relevant sections in the bible about loaning to the poor is like loaning to the Lord, and reasoning that if God really want her to visit Kunming, He would provide the money somehow(whether it is through enabling the amount to be returned or not).

Now, that neighbour, we shall call her Betty. Betty was really touched. She saw how frugal Amy was in her house keeping. She knew it took Amy quite some time to save up that amount, though it was not big. But she was not in the position to return it for at least twenty four months.

Meanwhile, God had not forgotten Amy. In the interim, Amy had two sponsored trips for two to Korea and Vietnam. The monetary value for those two trips far exceeded her amount loaned to the Lord.

He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done. Pr 19:17