Think a minute…There were two sick men who shared a room in a hospital. The man whose bed was by the window was allowed to sit up for an hour each day to help drain the fluid from his lungs. But the other man had to spend all of his time lying flat on his back.
These two sick men talked for hours every day. They talked about their wives and children, their jobs, and their many life experiences. Each day when the man by the window sat up in his bed for that hour, he told his roommate all the things he could see outside the window, especially the park with its lovely pond and gardens. This made the other man so happy that he eagerly looked forward to that one hour every day as he listened to his roommate talk about the people and beauty of the world outside their hospital window.
One night the man by the window died in his sleep. The other man who shared his room was deeply sad. He greatly missed his roommate who had shared with him about the wonderful world outside their window. The other man asked if his bed could be moved to the window where his friend had been, so he himself could see the beauty outside. But when he turned his head to look out the window, he was shocked to see nothing but a dirty blank wall!
When he told the nurse all the things outside their window that his roommate had described to him, the nurse said to him: “Your friend who sat by the window was blind. He could not see anything. I think he wanted to make your life happier.”
Jesus teaches that we are much more blessed and satisfied when we give to others rather than just receive for ourselves. The only way to be truly and fully happy is to make others happy. The only way to find a life of real meaning and purpose is to give your life away by loving and helping others. “Life makes sense when we make a difference.” This is how our Creator lives. He became a human to make all the difference in our lives. Our Maker loves us so much that He gave His sinless life as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sinful, self-centered hearts. That was the only way He could give His forgiveness and abundant life to us. Won’t you ask Jesus to forgive you and start changing you from the inside out? He will give you His power to enjoy living for others the way He created you to. Just think a minute…