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On Focus
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 THE
GIFT
- By
Sansu Garin
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“Silver and gold have I none. But what I have, give I thee…”
(Acts 3:6). As a little child, I learned these words of Saint
Peter merely as a Sunday Bible class song. But fully grown, I
now know WHO Saint Peter had that he wished to give to the
crippled man. I am also enlightened, by this verse, to look at
wealth in the following perspectives:
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First, wealth is not hoarded but shared.
Perhaps, what immediately comes to mind is that we live in a
world where there is a great imbalance of wealth. Where,
seemingly, the rich becomes richer and the poor becomes
poorer. One probably can’t help but think that, if only, the
rich will hoard less and share more to the poor, the world
will surely be a better place to live in. But I believe this
attitude towards wealth is not only applicable to the rich,
but to all of us. Each of us has his or her own “type” of
riches, not necessarily material in nature. Just like in the
Parable of the Talents, the talents referred to may be money,
time, talent, health, even our faith. We do not bury these
talents; instead, we share them. We let them multiply.
So that at the end of our life, the Lord will say, “Well done,
good and faithful servant!” Saint Peter was just a poor
fisherman who left everything to follow Jesus. His faith was
his one and greatest wealth. And he didn’t keep Jesus to
himself; he shared it to the crippled man.
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Second, wealth is a means, not an end.
In this time of materialism, it is sad to note that a lot of
people, especially the youth, dream, strive and live for
becoming rich one day. I’m not saying that it is a misplaced
ambition. I know of people who went from rags-to-riches
because of such dreams. I, myself, work hard to have enough
and live in comfort. It becomes a problem when wealth or
the pursuit for wealth is regarded as the “end-all and be-all
thing.” Instead, we should use our treasures to attain the
true “end-all and be-all thing” that is spiritual richness.
As the Bible says, “What profits a man even if He gains the
whole world if he loses his soul…” (Matthew 16:26).
I am reminded of someone’s mission statement in life, which
is, “To use what I have to make a difference in the life of
others.” It was the same with Saint Peter. With his faith
in Jesus, he made a difference in the life of the crippled
man.
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Third, true wealth is not measured by what we have, but how
much of Christ we have in us.
No riches, no wisdom, no honor, no power, no glory can ever be
greater than having Jesus Christ in us. I remember last
Christmas, I visited an old aunt to give her a present. By
most standards, she’s quite poor. She doesn’t have the
comforts most of us take for granted – electricity, indoor
plumbing, or say, a respectable house for that matter. She
can barely move around because of aching joints from old age.
I asked how she is, and she sincerely said, “Oh, I’m doing
well under these circumstances. I’m simply waiting for His
call. In the meantime, I have placed all my hope and trust in
the Lord.” I did not sense any trace of regret or
dissatisfaction in her answer. Only faith in God’s goodness.
Before I left, she gave me a specially made rice cake. With a
misguided notion born out of knowing that it would serve her
more than it would to me, I tried to refuse graciously. But
she prevailed on me to accept it saying, “I know it may not
amount to anything, but it is Christmas. I also want to give
you a gift.” Yes, the cake did not matter much, but her plain
generosity did. Just like Saint Peter, it wasn’t the cake
that was really her gift, but He, who was the reason of the
season, her true wealth – Jesus Christ.
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- May
we all, like Saint Peter, learn to pursue, share and treasure
Jesus Christ, our wealth.
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- All
Glory to God!
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TELL US
LIKE IT IS!
- Has
something wonderful and unique happened in your life lately? Did
God answer your prayer in a very unexpected way? Did you, like
Isaiah, meet God’s whisper?
- Have
you felt His powerful hand working in your life recently?
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Everyday, people are experiencing God’s mighty Word in their
lives and it is a pity that very few know about it. Do you have
a story to tell? Some Good News to share?
- E-mail
us (genesis@catholic.org)
or fax us (021-6627384), and tell us about it. That’s right! You
don’t have to be a great writer to do this. We can help you
write it – just tell us like it is!
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forget to write the subject: “Let Me Tell You A Story”
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Our Faith
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God Answers Prayers
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