Henri Nouwen's idea that "accepting grace" from others is a lesson to be learned even if such act exposes one's vulnerability has been in the back of my mind ever since I read With Open Hands. I remember a Christian couple also handed me a cheque many years ago when i quit my full-time job to go back to school to study music. I thanked them whole-heartedly but didn't cash the cheque. They were disappointed. Last year I received financial support from more than 15 people for my "Friends of Anhui" trip. It wasn't easy writing the letter to solicit monetary support. Yet my pride was not at stake as the whole thing was for the cause of the students there.After the rebuttal, I shared with another friend, a heavy-weight receiver herself. When she and her husband quit their full-time jobs to attend Fuller Theological Seminary, many friends pooled their resources together to support the couple's tuition, living expenses for several years. Here's her enlightening thought: There's no way to repay such kindness. And very often it's difficult to directly repay kindness to the person(s) from which we received. What we can do is to outflow grace and kindness to others who are in need and who we may come across in the future. This's the spirit of the Body of Christ.
It's so true. I forgot that I'm already in the "I OWE YOU" state even before accepting the cheque. How could I repay the sacrifice in terms of time and labor which church friends lent to my family during the past several months? I also forgot that, as a redeemed Christian, I'm living a life under grace. How could I ever repay that?
I have accepted the cheque -- less for the convenience the money temporary brings than for the humbling attitude my action embodies. May it serve as a reminder of how I shall conduct my life.
Artwork by Emmanuel Okoro; picture downloaded from www.degreeart.com.
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