Maybe This is Why...

I am reading a book I picked up at the Redeemer Bookstore when I attended the Refresh and Renew worship conference a few weeks ago. It's called "Seeds of Hope: A Henri Nouwen Reader". Henri Nouwen is a profound Catholic theologian. He spoke at a lecture series at Redeemer when I was a student there, but I had no idea...then...how much I would grow to love his writings.

One quote that struck me today was about writing. "Writing is like giving away the loaves and fishes one has, trusting that they will multiply in the giving." It occurred to me how any gift someone has is like that. If you have a burning passion to use and share a gift that you have, you should listen to that nudge. In the sharing....you give it away and in doing so, you bless many people along the way. It's not about bragging what you can do. It's about offering it to God so that He can use it.

Sometimes I'm unsure about whether to share something or not. Good old self-doubt. Yesterday someone reminded me that the way people receive it has a lot to do with how you share it. They look at the giver with a certain set of criteria, they know the motive and the heart of the giver, and that they can always TRUST the motive. When you read something here, you know who I am and where it's coming from. If I somehow find myself in a new situation where I have to offer something up, I am still the same person, offering from the same heart. There is no real difference, just the audience. And we should always live for the audience of One.