The Blank Check
THE GREATEST GIVER AND OUR SUSPICIOUS HEARTS
He’s one of the wealthiest men this world has ever seen, but you wouldn’t know it by passing him on the street. He lives in New York City, commuting by subway and then a short walk to his 37th floor office. Hundreds, if not thousands, of strangers week in and week out hardly notice him, even bumping his shoulder without saying, “excuse me.” Even though they’re strangers, he loves them deeply: the guy who sells footlong hotdogs from a cart with an under-inflated tire, the teenager with the most carefully thought out and rebellious image on their way to high school, and innumerable businessmen in suits on their way to Wall Street.
One day, the man sets up a small, foldable table and chair right in the middle of the hurried Monday morning traffic. “Free checks” his sign reads, “Any amount.” He signs and dates ten checks from his own bank account to distribute to anyone willing to take him up on it. Throughout the day, many people walk by staring straight ahead as if he doesn’t exist, some give him a quizzical look like his sign couldn’t be true, and yet ten—yes, ten—individuals walk up and name their price.
“Will you pay off all of my student loans and my rent for a year?” a medical student asks. “Yes,” the man says.
“How ‘bout a million dollars?” a cab driver barks. “Of course,” says the man.
The man writes out and signs a check to each individual, no questions asked. Some go away in tears, some laughing with unbelief, and others are completely speechless at the generosity of a complete stranger.
Returning to his office, the man sits behind his desk looking out at the New York skyline. One by one, each person he wrote a check to comes to mind. He imagines what they’ll do with it, how their lives will improve. Then, the faintest knock and a hesitant turning of the doorknob interrupts his reverie.
“Ah, Maggie,” the man says. “Come in, come in.”
Maggie, a making-ends-meet mother of five children, peeks her head inside the door. She had met this man earlier and thought he was crazy for what he was doing. “But,” she thought, “Was I crazy for taking him up on it?” Shyly, she makes her way to a comfortable armchair near the man’s desk. In tears she can barely utter the words, “Thank you.” The man consoles her and asks, “But what are you doing here? I have not seen or heard from any of the others.”
“I got your address from the check,” she quivered. “I had to see you, to say thank you, to explain how much this really means to my family. You’re part of our family now, after what you’ve done.”
The man stood up and embraced her in a tight hug as if she was a long lost daughter because he knew she understood—it was never about the money.
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God is merciful to the saint and sinner alike. He shows no partiality based on age, race, education, socioeconomic status, tainted pasts or bright futures. Yet many of those who have encountered God’s presence and blessings fail to return the honor and worship that is due our magnificent Creator. If Jesus is who He says He is and has done what scripture explains, isn’t He worth far more than an I’ll-go-to church-if-I-feel-like-it attitude? Isn’t He worth pursuing with outright abandon right now, not when our other life goals are achieved first?
“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice glorified God and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, ‘were not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’ And He said to him, ‘Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.’” (Luke 17:15-19)