Gratitude!

Whilst on my early morning walk along the beach today, I fed the seagulls with some stale bread. It is amazing how there isn’t a seagull in sight one minute, and hundreds circling around the next! One bird was so grateful for my offering that he sent me a very generous one of his own, slap bang in the middle of my head, plastering my hair to my scalp! Feeling a total idiot is not a novel experience for me, so I bore the stares of the passers-by with fortitude. As I explained to one person, seagull ‘whoopsies’ are a great hair conditioner, and the stink of fish is the price one has to pay for beauty!

When you give a person a gift it is really appreciated if the recipient is pleased and says, "thank you". It can be distressing when a gift, or good deed, far from being appreciated, is thrown back in one’s face, as has occasionally happened to me.

How much more upsetting it is when Jesus’ sacrificial gift of perfect love is corrupted by some people who call themselves Christians! I have, quite recently, come across a UK ‘Christian’ Internet forum where the hatred and vitriol spewed out in the name of Christ is truly disgusting. I read a dialogue between a ‘seeker’ and some of the forum’s regulars. The person, who obviously did not know much about Christianity, asked some very good, searching questions and was put down in the vilest of ways, by being told he was evil to question the Bible, and should repent immediately, or go to Hell! Consequently the ‘seeker’ removed himself from the forum with some choice phrases, saying that he wanted no more to do with the faith! I hope that forum is very proud of the fact that Christ’s gift to the world is likely to be rejected by that man, because he was treated so badly by people who claim to be the followers of Jesus!