He once had a group of friends which he called ‘The Elite Circle’ where only a person from a rich family is allowed to join. They have a common denominator, they don’t care for others, and they think that they are the most important people in the world. That without them this world will perish.

Not until one day, his parents came to him saying, “We are going to declare bankruptcy, we don’t have money now. All we have are endless debts.” These are the words that broke him as a person. It seems that all his dreams are already gone. This changed his view in life. Before, he thought that life is easy and all he has to do is enjoy it.

He thought that money is everything and that it would complete him. He proved himself wrong because after that incident he really felt empty. He started asking himself, “Who am I? Why am I here?” questions that seems so easy to answer but in reality many people find it hard to answer.  That very moment he started remembering things he had done in the past. And in dismay all he can do is cry. That event really changed his life. Before he doesn’t mind things, he’s always busy going out with his friends to have a good time. But now, he has to work to earn a living and buy food for the family.

It was his usual day when someone approached him. An elderly woman dressed in a not so expensive brand of clothes. “What do you need from me?” my friend asked the woman, but was so shocked with the elderly woman’s answer, “I don’t need anything from you, you are the one who’s in need.”

My friend was confused and a bit uncomfortable at first but later on, he found himself telling the elderly woman everything that had happened to him. Afterwards the elderly woman just smiled and told him, “Friend you need Jesus.” Not a single word came out of my friend’s mouth that moment. His mind was just wandering if God can still accept him? He was nothing but a poor guy who doesn’t even know where to go. And the woman continued telling him all the things God did for him. And he can’t help it, tears were running down from his eyes realizing that even he tend to forget about Him during those prosperous days God still loved him, and He still will accept him.

How about you, what’s your story? Maybe you have different situation. But one thing is for sure my friend, you need Jesus. You need His love and His freedom. Don’t worry because you don’t have to be like Mother Theresa for Him to accept you, because He said, “Come as you are.” All He need is your acceptance to His invitation. John 1:12 tells one of His promises to us, “and to us many who believed Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe on His name. He already finished everything for you when He died on the cross. All you have to do is to accept and make Him your Lord and Savior. Live for Him and I can tell and prove He is more than enough.

The sad part is that we are not like that when it comes to giving to God. Have we already given something costly to the Lord? Have we already tried to exert an effort or give extra time in making that piece of offering to our God, the Lord who has given everything that we need? Have we already tried to make him happy with our simple efforts, or we simply forgot just how to make him smile even for a little in a day?

One thing that we need to understand is that the Lord does not care on whatever we can give, but what he appreciates the most would just be our simple efforts that we do to please Him. Why would he be so needy if He has everything in this world? But as a loving father who is very appreciative on everything that we do, it brings simple joy to our God if we at least try to make something significant for him.

What we must realize is that every good thing that we do is accounted in the Lord. The more it will be if what we give is something costly. And what can be considered our costly offerings if the Lord is the owner of everything in this world? These would be the things that own our heart. These are the things that we find hard to offer. These things are our Isaacs as compared to Abraham in the Bible. These are the things that are from the Lord but we claim it as ours and we do not even share with Him. It might be treasures and money for some rich people, it might be time for those busy ones, or it might be dreams for the hopefuls. Sometimes our Isaacs even become the wall that keeps us at a distance with our heavenly Father without us realizing it.

Let us remember how the Lord provided for blessings in our daily lives. Not only that he never fails to provide for our necessities but just the fact that He has offered His most important possession and His beloved Son for us would be enough reason for us to appreciate His goodness and to give what is due to Him.

After all, no matter what we do and no matter how much effort we exert for someone, nobody in this world can compare with the very special kind of love and grace that the Lord can offer us. Let us try to give something costly for Him, just at least once in our lives. It will surely be appreciated. But more than anything else, God wants you. He is waiting for you to draw near to Him and this will surely make Him smile and will even throw a big party in heaven for you.

My dad left me at a very young age. He died when I was eight because of an accident. My mom was so depressed and hardly talked to anyone within the first few weeks of his death. Aside from the pain it caused me and my mom for his sudden death, I know that one of the reasons why my mom got so depressed is because of the instability of our future. The house where we live is not ours, and my father was not able to save money for my education. He was the only one working in the family for my mom was focused on taking care of household chores and on raising me, as their only child.

I was afraid and was so saddened by what had happened. Unlike mom, I was not depressed because I worry about our future. I just miss my dad.

I miss my dad when he teaches me to sing while he plays his guitar. I miss him when he teaches me how to write my ABC’s after he has come home from work. I miss him when he plays with me and laugh with me while mom is busy cooking for dinner. I miss him in everything that he does, in every moment I can remember, and I don’t know if I can live without him.

My loneliness then became evident to my relatives and people around me. I hardly talked to anyone on how I feel. One of my Sunday school teachers noticed my isolation and spoke to me. She said that she understands how I feel and she explained that I may have lost a father but I am not an orphan. Though my biological father had left me when he died, there is one father who still stays with me and watches me in everything I do. A father who will comfort me in times of sorrow, a father who will protect me in times of troubles, a father who will direct my plans and will bless me abundantly, and a father who will never leave me nor forsake me. And that is my father in heaven, my creator, my God.

Not every one of us has a father that we see everyday, a father who stays with us until we grow up. But there is a Father who does not leave us, One who will love us eternally, unconditionally.  He’s just up in heaven waiting for our call, waiting for the time that we call him “dad”. He’s definitely our dad in heaven.