The Hidden Key

The Hidden Key

If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

“I’ll be there in a minute,” I called as I tucked a key into a hidden spot outside. We were on our way out of town for a week, and I had an unexplainable compulsion to ensure that someone could access my house while we were gone.

It wasn’t two hours later that I received a text from our neighbor. This woman and her family, including several children, had moved in eighteen months earlier. Aaron and I had prayed for years that more kids would move into our neighborhood, so this family was an answer to that prayer, and my heart swells up a few extra sizes when I watch our combined gang of kids biking, climbing trees, and building snow forts.

In her text to me that morning, she told me that her minivan wouldn’t start and that she was in the process of finding a towing company. As we texted back and forth, that hidden key pushed to the forefront of my mind, and I remembered that our family car was sitting in our garage, filled with gas and with nothing to do for the week.

Silently thanking God for the persistent nudge to hide our house key that morning, I explained where it was, told her where my car keys could be found, and suggested she use our car as her backup plan. I sighed, knowing that no matter what was going on with my friend’s van, she and her children would not be stranded and scrambling to find a solution on a cold wintry morning.

We are creatures who thrive in healthy community, and when we intentionally take care of those around us with our finances, our possessions, and our time, God brings it back to us in ways that are indescribable. Being obedient in generosity, in the big and the small, is an essential part of godly friendships and will reap rewards that are life-giving and soul-refreshing.

— Julie

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Ask God to show you someone in your circle who needs some generosity, and then act on that revelation.