pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: giving


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Other-Centered

True love for others is revealed in who the love is focused on.  Some people will say they truly love others but their actions and motives behind them is focused only on themselves.  Others will reveal how much they love others because their actions and motives focus on others.  As human beings we fluctuate between these two, with God always calling us to love others and the world calling us to love ourselves.

At times our circumstances will cause us to focus on ourselves.  For example, Naomi had lost a husband and two sons, so she was in ‘survival mode’.  The grief and pain were so great she could not look outward.  But as time passes and she heals, her focus again looks outward.  She desires to bring security and love to Ruth.  Even though it will draw Ruth away from her, Naomi considers Ruth’s needs and life before her own.  Her love is shown in this sacrifice that she is willing to make.

Today each of us will face choices where we can offer some of yourself for another.  Will we choose to be self-centered or other-centered?  Will we be giving or holding onto what we have?  God calls us to follow Christ’s example of serving others.  In telling us ‘the first shall be last’ isn’t Jesus saying that in God’s economy, we must think of ourselves last here on earth?  Lord, help me to give of myself in all ways that I can today.

Scripture reference: Ruth 3: 1-5


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Giving and Receiving

Faith is meant to be lived out in community.  It is in the wider community of the world that we come to interact with people to share our faith.  Within our churches we also have a community.  It is in the fellowship of believers that we grow and develop in our faith.  It is from this smaller community that we go forth into the world.

Life is about giving and receiving.  In life we will all have situations where we can offer of ourselves to others.  We will also have times when we are in need and others will give to us.  This give and take is what it means to live in community as brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is about being filled and being emptied.

It is often through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we are filled.  He is the bread of life and the living water.  All who come to Him will never be hungry and will never thirst.  At times we need to be filled by Christ.  His table is always open for us to come, to connect with His Spirit, to be filled with His love.  Others in our community of faith can also fill us up and build us up.  This is just one reason community and relationships are so important to our faith.

It is from our community of faith and through our relationship with Jesus that we go forth into the world to answer our call to make disciples of all nations.  This is most often done in small, personal ways.  It is both giving generously of ourselves to meet the needs of another and also graciously welcoming another when they give to us.  Christ must be lived out in all of our relationships so that the light shines into the darkness and overcomes it.  It is in the light that we walk.  It is the light that draws others to Christ.

Scripture reference: John 6: 35


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So Others May Simply Live

We often struggle with the question of “How much?”  It is a question that goes both ways.  How much do I keep for myself, storing it up in the bank?  How much should I give to the church and other charitable organizations?  It is a fine line that is difficult to define or explain.

Could one pay their bills and give the rest of what one has left away at the end of each month?  I suppose one could but it would cause problems when one needs new tires or when a child hits a growth spurt and needs new clothes.  But on the other extreme one does not need millions in the bank either.  In reality, most of us live between these extremes.

Another reality is that most of us live with much more than we need.  We live in abundance.  We live with an excess of food, cars, televisions, clothes, bedrooms in our homes, and on and on and on.  Can we learn to live with enough so that others may simply live?

To do so requires trust and living in community.  We must trust God and each other.  We need to learn to live relying on God to provide and trusting that others will come along side us when we need them to.  We must learn to live in true community, being sensitive to and responsive to the needs of others in our communities.  We must be OK with saying ‘no’ when it is appropriate or when we have nothing to give but still be willing to offer empathy or to help another to other resources.  May we learn to live with less so that others may simply live.

Scripture reference: 2 Corinthians 8: 7-15


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Generous

Jesus was all about giving.  He was all about the ways in which He could offer Himself and His gifts to make other’s lives better.  He gave away all that He could for the sake of those He encountered.  Ultimately Jesus gave even His life for us.

The king of the universe who could control anything He wanted – nature, death, physical disabilities and limitations – humbled Himself and took on human form.  He who is more powerful than anyone, stooped down to our level and gave and gave and gave.  He calls us to follow.

Paul writes, “he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.”  He was encouraging the church in Corinth to recognize the gift Jesus gave as a means of inspiring them to be generous.  Paul saw the church as a connected body.  He encouraged them to give now when they can and trust, in faith, that when they are in need, others will provide for them.

Jesus taught by example the practice of “self-emptying.”  He showed us the way.  As we give to others, we become less and Jesus becomes more.  In this process we die to self and come to see the world through His eyes.  John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer offers these words, “Let me be full, let me be empty.  Let me have all things, let me have nothing.”  God fills us up so that by giving to others we can be empty.  God blesses us so that in turn we can bless others.  This day may we be generous with all we have.

Scripture reference: 2 Corinthians 8: 7-15


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Call of Christ

Christ chose to come and live among us.  God incarnate made the choice to walk in a human body. In the form of Jesus, God stepped out of heaven and down among us.  The people who lived with Jesus and witnessed His life were blessed to be in His presence, as are we who read about Him 2,000 years later.

In today’s culture, we are impressed when a president of a big company spends time with the workers or when a celebrity athlete spends time in a school or hospital.  At times we too are called to step out of or normal circle and to spend time ministering to the poor, the widow, the orphan, the prisoner.  For some it is a similar step to what Jesus did, willingly offering self for other’s benefit.

Christ set the ultimate example of giving when He submitted to death for our benefit.  Jesus Christ became totally powerless in order to gain ultimate power over death.  He had to be weak and vulnerable in order to gain strength and glory.  We are not called, in general, to give our lives for another, but we are all asked: what can you offer?

Scripture reference: Ephesians 1: 20-23


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See, Hear, Smell, Touch

Often times Jesus and God are portrayed as one.  While they truly are in each other, I more often see them as two sides of the same coin.  Each plays a somewhat unique role in my life.  Yet they really are one – as I come to know Jesus more I also come to know God more.  As I draw closer to one, I draw closer to the other.  So, how does one make the relationship more intimate?

One way is to enter into the stories of Jesus.  Not just to read them but to enter in and become a part of the story.  To see, to hear, to smell, to…  For example, consider the story of the widow’s offering found at the end of Mark 13.  Pretty simple story – Jesus and the disciples are sitting in the temple area, watching people put their offering into the temple treasury.  The rich put in large amounts.  A widow comes along and puts in two small coins.  Jesus gathers the disciples close and tells them that she put in more than the others.  he goes on to explain that the rich put in some out of much wealth but the widow put in all she had, every last cent.  Only four verses.  Just as the disciples did, I am sure you get Jesus’ point.

But take a minute and explore the story with me.  Go a little deeper and be part of the story.  So, here you are sitting there with Jesus.  No one is talking.  You are just sitting there watching people make their offering.  Across the way is a Pharisee, arms folded across his chest, staring at the people as they make their deposits, mentally recording the ‘gift’.  Person after person, in fine clothes all beautifully adorned walk by him and place their coins in the top of  the box.  You can hear the rattle, rattle, rattle as they drop onto the pile already in the box.  They barely even slow down to put it in – except that last woman – took her a while to get all the coins through the slot.  You see the smug looks as they exchange glances with the overseer – you can almost hear them say, “See how much I love God!”  That lady pauses a second in front of the Pharisee – an extra wink included.

Then almost as if the breeze has shifted, you smell something different in the air.  It is not fine perfumes or burning incense.  It’s that smell of sweat and dirt, the one you carry with you after as long day’s work out in the sun.  Next you hear the shuffling of feet dragging across the hard floor of the temple.  It is not the click-clack of the fine footwear that has been passing the overseer.  Then you see her – messy hair, clothes a little more than worn, sandals that you would barely call shoes.  In your mind you begin to think, ‘Wow, who let her in…’ but then you snap back to the reality that you are sitting there with Jesus.  In your mind you maybe even slap yourself across the cheek!  You watch her as she slowly shuffles towards the treasury box.  Glancing back at the Pharisee you can see him frowning as he too watches her.  You can image what is running through his mind.  As she nears the box, her pace slows down.  It surprises you that she could go any slower.  Others that have come to make their offering slow down and the line backs up a bit behind her – they are keeping a bit of distance.  You notice her hand tightly clutching something, knuckles turning a little white.  Then she comes to a halt in front of the box.  She closes here eyes and you see her lips moving as she offers a prayer to God.  She slowly extends her hand and lets go of its contents.  You hear clink, clink as two little coins join the massive pile inside the box.  She shuffles on and does not even look up at the overseer.  You see him smirk and see his shoulders bounce a little as he chuckles at the meager offering.

Suddenly Jesus is quietly gathering the disciples around him.  His quick, simple whispers reveal why she was moving so slowly, why she was clutching the coins so tightly, why she stopped to pray as she made her gift.  As the circle breaks and you return to your perch across from the box, you have a whole new thinking concerning giving.  You see each person as they approach the box differently now.  Suddenly you know Jesus and God a little better than you did before.  Who knew a poor woman in such simple attire could teach us so much about giving?

 

 


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Jesus, Our Superhero Model

Jesus was an amazing combination of real human and heavenly God.  He was like a superhero – normal person most of the time – yet now and then demonstrating the amazing.  And true to superhero code – He never used his powers for his own good!  But more often than not, Jesus was a humble servant – to any and to all.

We most often live in the ordinary.  Just a simple person, getting by day after day.  Yet once in a while we have the chance to step into the amazing.  We have the opportunity to live beyond the human limitations.  Sometimes we find it in a time of prayer or perhaps during worship.  It is that amazing moment simply being in His presence.  Sometimes we find it when we step out of our own comfort zone and into another’s world to engage them where they are at.  This idea is what awes me about Jesus – he accepted all he met at face value and offered what he could to them.  So often when we do for others, they are certainly helped but it is us who has gained the most.

In John 10:10 Jesus promised, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  Got your cape and tights ready?  Where will you find and give life abundantly today?


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Willingness to Give

In many places in the Bible we are called to give. We are called to give of our time, our talents, and our gifts. We find this call in other religions as well. On our confirmation trip to Denver this past weekend, we heard this call to give to those in need echoed in the foundational beliefs of the Jewish and the Muslim faiths. To give to those in need is such a basic human drive when we can set selfishness aside and allow our natural compassion to rise to the surface.

In Leviticus 19 God directs the farmers to leave the produce missed in the first picking so that the poor and the traveler may come and glean from the fields. God instructs them not to pick all the way to the edges and not to go over the field a second time. In the New Testament we see Jesus and his disciples being the recipient of this practice. When harvests were bountiful, this must not have been so hard to do. But in a year with drought and a poor crop coming in, a farmer would be tempted to get every last grape or head of grain out of the field. Society knew this practice was in place and that people could come glean from the harvested fields. Because it was a social norm, it removed the need for the poor and alien to have to come beg from the landowner. It was an early form of social justice and loving neighbor in the biggest sense of the word neighbor.

So… how do we seek to administer similar acts of social justice and giving? How do we honor the call to share our time, talents, and gifts? How intertwined these can be!! For most the simplest way is to share our gifts (money) – we give some back to the church to use in various outreach and mission projects or causes. Some also chose to donate directly to a cause or to sponsor a child in a third world country. We may volunteer to teach Sunday school or to help with Youth group or donate some time each week through a program like CASA that helps those in need. All great ways to say ‘thank you’ to God for all that he has blessed us with. All ways to share with our neighbor the things that God has given to us!

However we chose to make a difference in our world, it is all based on the same underlying idea. All that we have is God’s. In the days of old Israel, the farmers got to keep almost all of the crop that God had blessed them with. Today if you go so far as to tithe, you still get to keep 90% of what God has blessed you with. May we joyfully give from what we have been blessed with!! In the end, it is all God’s anyway!!


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May It Be

Psalm 112 opens with these lines: “Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands.” When we find a healthy amount of respect for God and live into His commands, we find our lives blessed.

Often the world looks at blessings as beauty, power or position, a big house or fancy car, and so on. Often the world looks at good health and minimal worries as being blessed. Often the world looks at a successful person as having many of the things listed in the previous two sentences. And God may chose to bless the righteous person in these ways as well.

But sometimes we as Christians expect these material or worldly blessings. We may even question God and doubt our relationship with Him when or if some of these things are missing! But the blessing God brings is not about us. The blessing God promises does not guarantee happiness all the time in this life, just in the eternal.

The wealth and riches that a righteous person receives from God come out of that relationship we have with Him and that gets lived out into our world. In verse 5 we are told that good will come to him who is generous and conducts his affairs with justice. In verse 7 we are told that the righteous man will not be shaken for his heart is steadfast and trusts in the Lord. And in verse 9 we are told that because he scatters his gifts to the poor, the righteousness will endure forever.

Many people around the world are very poor by our standards and they live with little yet they enjoy a deep and lively relationship with God. They have come to fully trust in Him and His provisions for them, no matter how meager their physical world may be. On a basic level they are very content with their lives and deeply know that all they have comes from God. They share freely out of the little they have. They thank God for the littlest of things and for all things.

Sometimes I am almost jealous of their pure faith. Sometimes I wish that I could be as content in all things as they are. So today I seek humility in my contentment. Today I seek to give freely and abundantly to all whom I encounter. Today I seek a pure and simple faith. May it also be with you as it pleases the Lord!!