Sunday, September 13, 1998
Sunday, September 13, 1998
And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the
debt. (Matthew 18:27
NRSV)
The gentle actress, Audrey Hepburn, was a great star for many years. Ask her about her most
important work and she will tell you it is traveling throughout the world as a goodwill ambassador
for UNICEF. "If my fame as an artist helps me get people to listen," she says, "I want to tell them
that if a family gets a shovel, which UNICEF provides in its programs, they should use it to dig a
well or cultivate the land--and not to dig the graves of their children." You see, Audrey Hepburn
knows about starving children. She once was one of them. As a youngster in Europe during
World War II, she and her family endured years of hunger and, toward the end, near-starvation.
"Immediately after the war," she recalls, "an organization was formed that gave us food, medicine,
and clothing. That organization later became the United Nations Children's Fund
[UNICEF]." Today Hepburn is repaying a debt in the name of God.
Jesus paid a great debt for each one of us. How are we repaying it?
Prayer: Loving God, thank you for sending Jesus to pay my debt. May I honor that debt
by repaying it by giving and sharing your gifts of love. Amen.
Ronald Newhouse, Texas, USA