This is another excerpt from Mitch Albom’s work entitled Have a Little Faith. The story tells of one of Albom’s last memories of a conversation he had with Rabbi Albert Lewis before he passed away. He shared he had asked the Reb, as he called him, “What would you do you if you only had five minutes with God? In those five minutes you can ask anything you want?”

The rabbi answered, “First I would say, ‘Do me a favor, God in heaven, if you can, members of my family who need help, please show them the way on earth. Guide them a little.’”

“Okay. That’s one minute.”

“The next three minutes, I’d say, ‘Lord, give these to some one who is suffering and requires your love and counsel.’”

“You’d give up three minutes?”

“If someone truly needs it, yes.”

“That still leaves you with one minute.”

“All right, in that minute, I would say, ‘Look Lord, I’ve done X amounts of good things on earth.  I have tried to follow your teachings and to pass them on. I have loved my family. I have been a part of a community. And I have been, I think, fairly good to people. So, Heavenly Father, for all this, what is my reward’”?

“And what do you think God will say?”

“He’ll say, ‘Reward? What reward? That’s what you were supposed to do!’”

We both laughed and our noise filled the house. And I think, at that moment, we could have been anywhere, anybody, any culture, any faith…a teacher and a student exploring what life is all about and delighting in the discovery.

This really touched my heart and made me think of times in my own life where I might have gotten “the big head” as my dad called it when I thought I was really going all out and doing so much for everyone around me.  That is what I was supposed to be doing.  I wasn’t doing anything bigger or better than anyone else, just doing what was expected of me at the time.

In our modern day lives, we may ask “What would Jesus do?” Jesus did exactly what He was supposed to do through God, our Father and gave His life so we may have eternal life.  God showers us with His unconditional love every day. The least we can do is what we are asked to do as God’s children.  Thanks be to God!

Patty