"Freely you have received, freely give."

For many of my acquaintances, friends and family, I am a nothing-special kind of guy, without any sort of ambitions. Largely because it is not a priority of my life to have my own house or car, a big bank account, nor to wear fashionable clothes. Or because I put aside the highly paid professions, with many fine benefits, and have chosen to work in a church, practically for free.

But a job is one thing and a vocation is something else. And it is precisely my vocation that has brought me to this job. You can engage and disengage from a job. Not so with a vocation. A clear example is doctors. For one to whom being a doctor is a profession, he only serves others during his office hours. But for one to whom being a doctor is a vocation, it doesn't matter at what hour you need him or where you are, he will come to see you and heal you, no matter how early in the morning it is.

I won't deny it; many times I have been at the point of throwing in the towel. However, whenever I say this, God and life give me some very good lessons.

One of those days in which I was determined to abandon the church, a baby hummingbird fell from its nest in front of my house. I tried to put it back into the nest, together with its brother, but it was very naughty and left the nest once more. So I made another nest for it by my window, with the hope that the mother would see it and feed it. When I saw that the mother didn't do this, I went on the Internet to look for all the information I could find about hummingbirds. So I found out that I could feed it with honey diluted in water, using a drinking straw. Eventually the mother came to it and fed it. Soon thereafter, its brother also left the nest and settled himself in the new nest. Never in my life did I imagine at some point having a live hummingbird in my hands, much less 2 baby hummingbirds. And I never imagined feeding them.

Finally, when they reached sufficient age, they flew from the nest, temporarily living in the tree at the entrance to my house. At first, when they wanted to fly, they fell to the ground. Upon seeing them, I picked them up and helped them return to flight and to the tree.

During the time I lived with these tiny animals I learned many things about them. For example, that hummingbirds are called birds of love and war. This is because love, just like war, is easy to start and hard to stop. I found out that hummingbirds are the only birds who are able to stop themselves in the air and fly backwards. I also learned a fable and a lesson on this subject of job and vocation.

It is said that there was a great fire in the forest, and a hummingbird passed by a lion at a high rate of speed. The startled lion asked it "Hummingbird, where are you going in such a hurry?" The bird responded, "I am taking water in my beak to put out the forest fire." The lion threw himself to the ground, rolling with laughter, and said to the bird, "But you can only carry the tiniest amount of water." And the hummingbird responded, "At least I am doing something. I am doing my part."

Yes, perhaps I am a nothing-special kind of guy because my priority in life is to serve others and not to own material and worldly possessions. Nevertheless, at least I am doing something...I am doing my part of God's plan.

And, yes indeed, many times I work "practically" for free, and so many other times "totally" for free in my church. But didn't Jesus say if God has given me a free gift, I should in the same manner freely give it to others? And further, to do so with much love, just like when you feed a tiny, recently born bird. Without asking anything in return. And receiving, as payment, something which is much more valuable than money: to know that for the bird you were the hand God working in its world, and to one day see it flying, alive, healthy and safe.

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Matthew 9:35-38 & 10:6-8 [New International Version]
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

"Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."

Source:
Soul Food Ministry ~ soulfoodministry.org

Marco Rubio 2006
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