GIVING YOUR ALL [R, 8-10-23]

CHRIST IN WINTER: Reflections on Faith & Life for the Years of Winter—GIVING YOUR ALL [R, 8-10-23]

 

“All I have now is what I gave away.”

That’s the last line, the meaning line, in a story told me by my late, great friend, Jack Newsome, after he read a book by Bishop Everett Palmer.

As Jack remembered it, as a young man, Palmer had worked for a rich rancher. His boss was a Christian. He had a brother who was a medical missionary. He was the total support of his brother in that mission. He gave generously to many other causes for those in need.

But hard times came in agriculture. The man lost all his property, everything.

Palmer went to see him. He was living in a shack at the edge of what used to be his property. As they chatted, Palmer said, “I suppose now you wish you hadn’t given away so much.” That’s when his old boss said…

“Oh, no, Everett. All that I have now is what I gave away.”

I have loved that story ever since I first heard it. There is such deep, layered meaning in it. Now that I am living in reduced circumstances, can I apply it to myself? Not in some ways. I never had a lot of money, never gave so much away that I can’t live in a nice little condo.

Still, I think it’s true: now that I have no strength of body or mind or wallet, all that I have is what I gave away… in friendship, in time, in helping, in concern, in speaking truth—both to power and to personal disillusionment, in prayer, in being there, in showing up… in love.

The great thing about giving love away is that is never runs out. The more you give, the more you have. All that I have now is what I gave away.

John Robert McFarland