The Only Treasure

"You should be pleased that they cannot repay you..." Luke 14:14

I am always struck by how opposite Gospel values are to the way of the world. Here Jesus teaches that we should look for ways to do good to people who cannot pay us back, or give us something good in return. This is exactly the kind of generosity God has shown to us. Giving without counting the cost and continuous openhandedness with us even when there is nothing we can give back. 

 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were always on the lookout for people to be generous to? My brother-in-law is like that. He found a scruffy looking foreign couple in the streets. Apparently they were lost. He brought them home to stay the night. Then one time he noticed another foreign couple discussing whether to buy some peanuts. Apparently they did not have much money. He invited them to dinner at a restaurant and found out they were a missionary family from Sri Lanka. Another time he picked up some nuns who were getting wet because of a strong rain. 

And then there's Mang Urot who feeds hungry people in the street every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. He and his family, and sometimes volunteers cook food for 80-100 people and serve it in front of Bank of Commerce along Quezon Avenue. Anyone can come and eat. 

"At long last, what is there left from life? What’s left to me? Strange as it seems, only that, which I gave to others…" (Vahan Tekeyan) Indeed, when we get to heaven, the only treasure we will have is that which we gifted others from our heart, with no ulterior motives!