To a Friend

The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.     -1 Timothy 5:24-25

I love this verse (that may sound somewhat prideful in a minute). Just like you can't keep even your secret sins hidden, neither can you keep the secret the good things that you do either. No, I don't love this verse because it means that I'm going to be recognized for the good things I do (see? that's the part where you could have read into things), I love it because many times, we get the opportunity to see this verse in action in other peoples' lives all around us, giving us a better understanding of who that person really is, where there heart is, and causing us to thoroughly enjoy being with them the next time we see them because we feel like we've gotten away with knowing something about them that they really wish no one did (don't lie. You like that feeling too.)

I saw a perfect example of this just within this past week here at college, and as soon as I did, this verse immediately came to mind, and because of seeing it, I had to tell people just what this person did, and how grateful I am for them. My brother just started his freshman year here at the same school as me. Like just about every other college student on the planet, he doesn't have a lot of money. He and a couple of friends were hungry late one night, and decided to hit up a local fast food joint real quick for some cheap food. As he took his place in line, he stared at the menu and asked himself aloud, "Hmm, what can I get for $4?". Apparently, the guy standing right behind him heard what he said, introduced himself, and offered to pay for his meal. The guy didn't know anything about my brother, he just arrived, yet he was willing to pay for his food. What surprised me was when my brother told me the name of the guy: a friend of mine, and fellow student here at school, who likewise, probably doesn't have a ton of money hanging around just so he can pay for strangers' meals. (Does Jesus' reference to the poor widow giving to the temple come to mind?)

And so because of this, I thought this guy deserved a little recognition. This certainly isn't the first time I've seen him do something like this either, he's truly got a heart of gold. And so I say thank you Sean. You're an awesome guy, I'm praying for you, and I'm expecting you to do awesome things for God with your life. You're already doing some already.