| 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 – “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. “ |
We think about giving out of the surplus of our lives.
We have much and share little.
That’s why we are awed when people give so much more, whether a child making money from a lemonade stand giving it to a hospital or some other act of great sacrifice.
That’s what the raspberry meant.
At the age of 15, Greta had lost so much.
It was early September when the invading Germans took her from her home in Bielsko, Poland. Soldiers tore her mother from her arms and sent her to a death camp. Greta endured a 350 mile march to a concentration camp.
When American troops found her three years later, she weighed 68 pounds and looked like a skeleton. The twist in the story is she married the soldier who freed her, Lieutenant Kurt Klein.
When the Holocaust Museum of Boston opened, Greta attended. She marveled at the five towers that told of the horrors of her life.
The sixth bore a short story of hope. The story, penned by Greta Weissman Klein, is called One Raspberry.
The story tells of a young friend of Greta’s she met in the camp. Her friend found a single raspberry and slipped it into her pocket. Later that night, she gave it to Greta. Her friend had one possession, and she gave it to someone else.
We need to reframe how we see giving, whether it is time, money, or abilities. We can give so much when we realize how much we must give.
Paul reminded us about how God sees all the gifts of our life.
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
If all you have in your life to give is a raspberry, give it with great joy. If you can give something to someone else today, even if it just attention, make that a joy rather than a chore. God sees the smile in your heart.
-Robert Taylor
