This story is a true story about something that happened in my life some years ago.
The other day a neighbour's cat came to my house crying for food. At first I sent it away. 'It is not my responsibility', I thought, 'It belongs to my neighbour'. The plight of the cat got worse and she grew thinner and thinner until I felt I had to give the cat some food. It didn't matter whose cat it was, she was starving. Maybe the owners couldn't afford to buy cat food, maybe they were feeding it a food which it couldn't eat, or maybe they just didn't care about it. Whatever the reason, I had let the fact that it was someone else's cat blind me to the fact that it was starving. I had food to give it, we have three cats of our own, and it had to be fed or it could starve to death.
God spoke to me through this incident. He brought me to realize how easily I could have looked the other way and tried to justify myself by saying 'The problem is not mine.' The truth of the matter was that the problem was not mine until I was made aware of it. The cat had come to my door and I as a believer know that the cat does not really belong to my neighbour, it belongs to God. 'The earth is the Lord's and the fullness therein.' (Psalm 24).
Sometimes we are reluctant to share what we have, not only the material things but also the spiritual things, because we think it will cause a loss to us. However, the Lord tells us to give and it shall be given to us (Luke ch. 6 v.38). Whatever God has given to us is to be given out to others where there is a need, we need not fear that we shall suffer through our giving. In fact we are more likely to suffer through our lack of giving, especially where sharing our faith is concerned. If a plant was to be put in a vessel that did not have any holes in the bottom, water being poured into it frequently would soon cause the plant to rot. If there are holes in the vessel the plant will take what it needs through it's root system, and the excess will flow out, keeping the plant healthy.
However, no gardener will add water to a plant that is already saturated and in danger of rotting because the water hasn't been allowed to drain away. So let us make sure our vessels have holes in them, and that the 'water of the Word' that we have been given will be shared in this world, just like the widow in 1 Kings ch. 17 shared her bread. Let us all try to be like the widow woman who trusted the Word of the Lord so much that she gave to Elijah when he was in need before she took for herself and her son. It is by our works that we show faith. Let us share both the things that we have in this world, and also our faith, through the BREAD OF THE WORD. God is faithful, 'the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail' according to the word of the Lord for the widow woman, and neither will it for us. For the Lord knows what things we have need of before we ask.
When the Lord is the 'gardener' we need not fear that He will neglect to 'water' us. Proverbs ch. 11 v.35 says 'The generous man will be prosperous. And he who waters will himself be watered.'
