The Christian Life

It was raining hard at the end of the workday. The few students remaining in our offices, along with myself, were facing the prospect of getting completely soaked in walking to our cars. 

I had an umbrella in my office, which I use on rainy days to get to and from class. I went and got it and gave it to a female graduate student. She was confused about why I was giving it to her, rather than using it for myself. She tried to give it back, but I insisted she use it. "Why are you giving this to me?" she asked, "You're going to get wet."

I just said, "Don't worry about it. I want you to use it." She did.

I didn't share with the student my answer to her question, but I had one. When she asked me why I was giving her my umbrella the answer flashed in my mind, these exact words:

"I'm giving you this umbrella because the Christian life is one continuous act of charity."

Again, I didn't say this out-loud. And there's a lot of virtue-signaling in sharing this story will you. But I'm sharing this because of that line that flashed through my mind. I didn't conjure it up or think about it. It came, rather, as in interruption in my mind. It didn't feel like it was my thought. It felt more like a a gift.

And the thought has haunted me ever since, "the Christian life is one continuous act of charity."

This entry was posted by Richard Beck. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply