A New Day

By: Pastor Johnie Akers  

Ecclesiastes 11:1, “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” Nanci Hellmich for USA Today once wrote a stirring piece she entitled, “Santa Shares His Secret.” She told about Larry Stewart, a successful businessman from Lee’s Summit, Missouri. For many years, Mr. Stewart had been a “Secret Santa” doling out one hundred-dollar bills to the needy during the Christmas season. Stewart decided to go public when a tabloid newspaper was ready to reveal his identity. He hoped his story would inspire others to take up the charitable mantle. In 1971, Mr. Stewart was working as a door-to door salesman, when the company he worked for went out of business. Soon, Stewart had run out of money. He hadn’t eaten in two days when he went to a local diner and ordered a breakfast that he knew he could not pay for. The restaurant owner, Ted Horn, pretended to find a twenty-dollar bill on the floor underneath Stewart’s chair. “Son, you must have dropped this, “said Horn. “It was like a fortune to me,” Stewart said. His response to this act of charity was simple. He prayed, “Lord, if you ever put me in a position to help other people, I will do it.” Over the years the Lord blessed Stewart financially, resulting in him giving away an estimated $1.3 million. Stewart later said, “I see looks of hopelessness turn to looks of hope in an instant. After all, isn’t that what we’re put here for?” This, my friends, is the true spirit of Christmas. In our Scripture lesson today, Solomon reminds us that if we “cast [our] bread upon the waters,” it will return back to us. The generosity we show others will be returned to us, so that we may continue to be a blessing to those whom God has placed in our path. This Christmas, look for the hopelessness on the countenance of those around you. Most likely, you will not have to look far. Then, become an ongoing expression of the incarnation of God to them. One act of Christian charity can change a person’s day of hopelessness and despair, into a glorious new day.