Father, I come before You humbled in heart and spirit. I am weary in body and mind but amazingly enough, despite my many limitations You choose to use me. May Your will be worked out through me. Amen.
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I’ve recently started delving into TikTok. It’s one of those social media things (like all of them) that you have to be careful in regard to what you watch. But much of the content I have stopped to partake in has been eye-opening and entertaining both.
Today I listened as a young man shared a story about a rabbi who wanted to build a new synagogue in a developing Jewish neighborhood as many were moving from the city to the suburbs of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. There were no funds, but he didn’t let that stop him. He confidently walked right into a local bank and spoke with the manager about getting a loan for $500,000 to build the synagogue. The thing is you’ve got to realize that this was in 1958 and that would be like asking for a five-million-dollar loan today!
Surprisingly the manager agreed to give him the loan, but it came with a story. As a small child, the manager’s father had died leaving his mother and four other siblings penniless. Times were desperate for them. Upon hearing of their plight, a local general store owner went and told his mother that as long as he owned the store they would always be clothed and fed. He would never ask for money, and she could pay whatever she could whenever she could. He also happened to be Jewish.
The manager shared that he was who he was that day because of the kindness shown to him and his family through that time. And now…it was his turn to repay the extraordinary kindness shown to them. The synagogue was built and stands to this day.
The young man continued by sharing an old saying, “Anyone can count the seeds in one apple, but only God can count the apples in one seed.” The owner of the general store could never have known the effects of the one seed he planted into that family…only God could. His lone seed continues to produce fruit in a Jewish community that continues to thrive to this day.
Let me challenge you this day. Never hesitate to do good. Maybe it will be a kind word or a smile for someone who needs it. It might be something that will cost you. You may never see the results of your actions, but God surely will. Who knows the number of apples which may come from your sowing your own seeds of kindness?
Now [remember] this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to others] will also reap generously [and be blessed]. Let each one give [thoughtfully and with purpose] just as he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver [and delights in the one whose heart is in his gift]. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 AMP
(If you’d like to watch the entirety of Yaakov Cohen’s TikTok post, click on this link.)
Sept 4th, 2022, Sun, 9:53 pm
