Sharing is Caring

(Caught in the middle of a scuffle between Aimee and Kaitlyn, my attempts to prise the doll away from them were drowned by screams of protests and kicks of indignance. At last, with the help of their older sister, Renee, they were physically separated. As I calm the upset Aimee, Renee approached Kaitlyn, who was still fuming with the ‘injustice’ that had befallen upon her. Collapsed on the couch, arms folded and pouting, Kaitlyn was not being easy. But Renee had her way. Stroking Kaitlyn’s hair gently, she spoke these few words of knowledge, “… sharing is caring.”).

Just a few weeks ago, on the 8th of August, our first back-to-back service at UWA passed by in a flurry of activities. All at once, there were many different things and different groups of people working together at the same time- the ushers, projection team, booth holders, sound team, and service coordinators overseeing the entire process to ensure that the service flows smoothly and on time. All these behind-the-scene moments that many of us often overlook suddenly seemed more pronounced at this particular service. Perhaps it was our unusual swift exit out of the Social Science Lecture Theatre that made it so.

We could say that we’ve been good hosts, extending our love and ‘service hall’ to our brothers and sisters of Curtin zone, lending our resources and services to others in times of need. But I invite you now to consider this perspective- we do not lend, we share.

Now you may wonder, perplexed out of your mind, what is the difference between lending and sharing? Well, we lend with an expectation of reciprocation, but we share out of generosity and love without any expectation. Do we say to our siblings, “Eh, I lend you my stapler, now, you have to return to me the exact number of staples you used okay??” (If anyone of you admits to this sort of mentality, remember there is no condemnation!) Of course not! We would and should gladly offer our whole pencil case if need be!

The same goes to hosting the Curtin zone. Being our direct ‘siblings’ (because we’re all in the same church), we adopt the sharing mentality, and offer this little bit as an act of service. At the start of the year, UWA-zone was blessed with a bigger and prettier venue, a swop of service timing to worship on glorious Sunday mornings, and not forgetting the dim sum lunches after service. The blessing does not stop there, and I can go on and on for how much each ministry has benefitted from the Lord. But the bottom-line stands that as we received freely, we also give freely. We are filled with God’s blessings and love so that we can share what we’ve experienced and know to be so awesome and real.


Isn’t this the same with what God has done for us and has called us to do? To share the gospel? To love one another?


Wherever you are placed in this season of your life, it is by no means a coincidence. It could be the course that you’re enrolled in, this particular cell group, a specific friend you’ve come to know better, or even a painful period that you’ve just gone through. It is not a coincidence! God brings you through all these for a reason and I encourage you to realise that this is your ‘mission field’ in this season of your life. There is no other person in this entire world that has the exact same experience as yours.


Use your circumstance to share the good news and the greatness of our Lord, as what our guest speaker, Ms. Lily Foo has been doing. Due to a severe accident, Lily was bed-ridden for a period of time and is temporarily using a wheelchair to get around while her body recovers. Amidst all these, Lily continues to rejoice and testify to God’s amazing grace and love.

As we carry on with our day-to-day life, busying ourselves with assignments, work, meetings and friends, let us not overlook the people in our lives; the ones who are crying out for a word of encouragement, a touch of friendship or a moment of attention. As aptly put by Sanger, “A person’s spiritual walk is like a chain, with links of encounters. You can be any link in the chain; JUST DON’T BE THE MISSING LINK!”

I want to encourage all of us not to be afraid of rejection or the opinions of others. Instead, allow yourselves to be filled with childlike faith and act upon your instincts, not letting our inabilities stand in the way. Why share? In the wise words of 5-year-old Kaitlyn Chen, “… because people believe in other Gods and people need to know that Jesus is real.”

As we all take a bigger step to spread the word and share His love, let’s begin to prepare our hearts and pray for the people we are inviting; may their hearts be open to encounter the love of Christ. You might just be that missing link!

Written by blog writer,
~Debs~


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