A couple of weeks ago the press issued prime-feature images of Labour leader, Ed Miliband, giving money to a 16-year-Romanian beggar girl in Manchester. The rights and wrongs of Ed’s gesture were discussed. How much did he give? And what did it do for his tarnished public image? I don’t know – but who is asking, ‘but what about the girl?’
Now it’s Monday, the centre is shut and Centre Manager, Ann, is about to go home.
The phone rings. A mother is on the phone. Her 10 year old daughter has come home from school in tears and mother is wondering what to do.
So, why is daughter in tears? She’s just been on a school trip and encountered a street beggar. Her teacher told her she mustn’t give her pocket money to him. She really wanted to so ... there are tears.
Mother is asking Ann: “We both really want to do something to help homeless beggars. We live in an out-of-town suburb and we don’t see them round here. What can we do?”
Who is to be commended the most? Mother? Daughter? I don’t know - but all I know is there is a wealth of hugely good-hearted people out there! Someone is asking, actually someone very young, ‘What about the destitute men and women out there? They’re on our streets” - and, what's more, is posing the poignant question, “What can I do?”
The year 518 B.C. ... A delegation arrives from neighbouring Bethel to the priests in Jerusalem: “Should we still mourn and fast over the fall of Jerusalem as we have been doing for the last 70 years? After all, the new temple is nearly rebuilt?" (My paraphrase of Zechariah 7:1-4)
Was this a, ‘Shall we, have we got to?’ question? Had the heart shrunk? Had the once heartfelt setting aside of time to seek God turned into duty, a trudge?
Walking through an apple orchard today, I noticed rows of trees with layers of fruit, lying on the ground, ripe but wasted, bruised, food for wasps and rotting in the autumn sunshine. Perhaps it was the strong winds? Whatever the cause, it was wasted.
How many times have we seen believers running, then walking, then trudging, then lagging behind and finally veering away from the path into wasted, wilderness land ... beautiful fruit, lost.
How can we preserve that eager, heart-felt resolve and fervent love for Jesus and His Kingdom?
Stay together, join with the strong in open-hearted fellowship, live in watchfulness and pray, be grateful, feed on rather than just read God's Word, be filled with the Holy Spirit ... many things, all these and more but, please God, less tragic waste, let’s have more fruit ready-for-the-harvest and less waste!
