Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with GodSample

GAIN THROUGH GIVING Sundar Singh was once traveling with a Tibetan companion on a bitterly cold day. The men were miles from shelter and almost frozen to death. They reached a steep precipice and saw a poor half-dead man who had fallen over the edge. Sundar wanted to stop and save the man; but his companion, saying it was all they could do to save themselves, left Sundar behind. After much difficulty, Sundar was able to get the man from the slope onto his back. Before long, Sundar came upon the Tibetan companion who was frozen to death. On he struggled and, gradually, the dying man on his back received warmth from his rescuer's body and began to revive. Sundar himself was also saved from an icy death because he grew warm through the effort to save the dying man. Christ commissioned the Twelve and sent them on a mission of self-denial. He told them to lose their lives for others and trust God for their own safety and needs. He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff--no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts--but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics (Mark 6:8-9). They even had to depend on others for their shelter. This first "missions" trip was to teach Christ's followers self-denial and the provision of God. Christianity involves giving of self to others. It demands a selfless service regardless of the consequences. We must lose our lives to find them. Paul told us: Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). And, again: Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). In helping others, we help ourselves.