This episode is dedicated to the late Brother Robert Daniel.
Welcome to My 2 Cents.
Every one of us can probably trace our lives back to someone God used to change our direction. Someone who believed in us before we believed in ourselves. Someone who encouraged us, prayed for us, or opened a door of opportunity when we couldn’t open one ourselves. Those moments often seem ordinary at the time, yet they become turning points that shape the rest of our lives.
Looking back, we may think our success came from hard work, talent, or determination. While those things have their place, God often chooses to work through ordinary people whose quiet acts of faithfulness leave an eternal impact. We celebrate the milestones in our lives, but behind many of those milestones is a faithful servant whom God used to make them possible.
I’d like to tell you about one of those people.
It was one of our usual weekly visits to the beach in June 1996, about a year after our marriage. My wife and I were sitting on the shores of Chennai’s famous Marina Beach, talking about our future. I was working as a sales engineer in mechanical engineering, but we both knew my income wasn’t enough for the life we hoped to build. That evening, we made a decision together: I would return to school, study Information Technology, and begin a new career. By God’s grace, after a year of study and training, I completed the program.
Then came the challenge of finding my first door of opportunity.
That’s when God brought Brother Robert Daniel into our lives.
Robert had been my wife’s Sunday school teacher when she was a little girl. He loved Christ and cared deeply for people. He took me to IT companies, introduced me to managers, and spoke on my behalf when I had neither experience nor connections. He believed God had a plan for my family and chose to be part of it.
Months later, a Vice President gave me my first opportunity because Robert never stopped advocating for me. That job changed everything. A few years later, the company sponsored my work permit to Maryland. Today, twenty-six years later, by God’s grace, I serve as a Chief Technologist in Data Engineering.
When I look back, I don’t see my success. I see God’s fingerprints through one faithful servant.
Brother Robert Daniel passed away suddenly in 2004 at the age of 42. Though his life was short, his influence continues through the many lives he lifted for Christ, including mine. We stand as living witnesses to Christ’s unfailing love displayed through his faithful life.
Philippians 2:4 says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Robert lived that verse. His investment was never in possessions, but in people.
Everything God has allowed me to accomplish, and every person I’ve been privileged to mentor, traces back to one man who chose to lift someone else.
I share this story for one reason: to glorify Christ.
Over the years, the Lord has entrusted our family with opportunities to serve others. My wife has continually reminded me that we are not owners, but stewards.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:3, “When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” May Christ alone receive the glory.
Psalm 24:1 reminds us, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” Everything we have belongs to Him. Our calling is to faithfully steward His gifts for His glory and the good of others.
Stewardship is not measured by how much passes through our hands, but by how faithfully we place it in God’s hands. Sometimes what changes a life isn’t a large gift, but a timely word of encouragement, an introduction, a prayer, or simply making room for someone who needs an opportunity.
As 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace.”
Perhaps the greatest measure of our lives isn’t what we earn, but who we lift.
Jesus said in Acts 20:35, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
So let me leave you with this question.
If everything you owned disappeared tomorrow, would you still be considered wealthy because of the lives you helped lift?
Someone invested in you.
Someone prayed for you.
Someone opened a door for you when it seemed like there was no path forward.
Now it’s your turn to do the same.
Because in God’s Kingdom, real wealth is not measured by what we accumulate.
Real wealth is measured by how many people are closer to Christ because we lived.
Perhaps one day, someone will look back on their life and thank God that you were the one who opened their first door.
This is My 2 Cents.
Until next time, may the Lord help us faithfully steward everything He has entrusted to us so our lives point others to Christ alone.
Love you all in the love of our Lord.
God bless you.
