Mrs. Max and I had the privilege of buying our first home in March of 1999. (Actually, we would have had it paid for on my 65th birthday, but we moved to Arizona!) We thanked God for His marvelous provision. The house and yard were beautiful and in excellent shape. The boys enjoyed the room to run, the extra bedroom, the yard, the basketball hoop, and especially the pool.

We spent many hours planting, pruning, and doing general yard work. We completed several indoor projects: hanging ceiling fans, painting, stenciling, and wallpapering. I especially enjoyed puttering around in the garage ~ it’s a guy thing. It was a great house.

Hunting for a new home was sometimes fun but was often frustrating: big house - small yard, big yard - small house, nice living room - small bedrooms, nice everything - too expensive, inexpensive - bad neighborhood, or bad everything. When we think back on all of the homes that we considered purchasing, none compared to the one that we bought. We loved that new house and were proud of it.

Some might not have found our new home to be that great, others might have thought it average, while still others might have found it to be an excellent house. But even if a person really liked our house, he wouldn’t appreciate it like we did. We spent nine years with three boys in a two-bedroom condo with one...just one, bathroom. We were happy there, but we really appreciated the new, bigger space. We thanked God for His provision. We appreciated what we had but even more so because of what we didn’t have before.

Proverbs 17:22 tells us that a merry (joyful) heart is good like a medicine but a broken (crushed) spirit dries the bones. Joyful people are thankful people who like to share their joy. Complaining people are unthankful people who like to share their misery. A thankful person who finds a dollar might excitedly say, “Can you believe it? I found a dollar...way cool!” An unthankful person might sarcastically say, “Look at me. I found...a whole dollar.” Same find...completely different responses. You’ve probably already thought of people who might react in these same ways.

When something special or exciting happens to us, we want to share it with others. Sharing the blessings of God can work like a medicine to a discouraged heart. That’s what caring and sharing is all about. If I care for the lost, I’ll share the Gospel. If I care for the hurting, I’ll share God’s healing. If I care for the discouraged, I’ll share God’s hope. You get the point.

Do you remember what you didn’t have before (salvation), how lost you were, and what God did for you? Are you thankful for God’s great provision of grace? “Why should I care?” Because God cared enough to send His Son to rescue me from my sin and its punishment. Care enough to share.

Mark Maxwell, B.A.
Youth Pastor