Generous Toward God

“May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

– Ruth 2:12

Compared to most of the world's population, Americans are incredibly rich. When we're hungry for a snack, all we have to do is walk to the kitchen for some fresh fruit — or, more realistically — a bag of chips. And if we're running low on supplies, a quick trip to the supermarket or Walmart fills up the fridge in no time. Even those of us on government assistance are rich by the world's standards. 

As Christ-followers (rich or poor), we're called to be generous with our possessions and resources. That’s because God blesses you and me in a myriad of ways, day in and day out. And since he's also the ultimate giver, and he wants us to be that way, too.

Think about the many blessings from our Creator. They vary, but likely include things like our health, job, home, family, friends, and church. And what about God's ultimate gift: forgiveness of our sins and an eternal relationship with him through our faith in Jesus?

God also wants every Christ-follower to abandon greed. But to do that, we must trust him rather than our riches. After all, bank accounts and retirement funds can shrink overnight through unexpected circumstances and economic uncertainties. Just ask anyone who’s between jobs.

As the apostle Paul explains in 1 Timothy, being generous toward God and his purposes renders much more than a warm feeling of self-satisfaction. Think of it as a guaranteed high-yield investment with dividends that you'll enjoy forever in the world to come. Our Creator challenges us to overturn our preconceived notions about money and possessions. And it's through his design that giving generously becomes getting more:

"By doing that, they will be saving a treasure for themselves as a strong foundation for the future," Paul says. "Then they will be able to have the life that is true life."

It's every Christ-follower's mission to serve as God's hands and feet on earth by feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and housing the homeless. So, by making generosity a spiritual habit, we'll become more like him to help change our world for the better. Jesus sums it up through this reminder to us in Matthew 25:40:

"... 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"

Out of the Sand Trap

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”

– Ruth 1:16

There are few do-overs in the game of life. But sometimes there are in the game of golf. For example, if a golfer slices their shot into the woods or a deep sand trap, they might ask their opponent for a mulligan — a chance to try again.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get a mulligan every time we fail in life? Like the time we spoke rudely to a co-worker or cut off another motorist in traffic. Or when we gossiped about someone at church or “forget” to report certain income on our tax forms. Better yet, how about a do-over for that night (25 years ago) when we shoplifted on a friend’s dare?

Big or small, our failures can weigh heavy on our hearts. How great it would be if we could just erase those ugly episodes and start over with a clean slate. Yes, we can all use a few mulligans.

The apostle Peter could relate to this sentiment. Although he was one of Jesus’ earliest followers, witnessed his Master’s miracles, and even walked on water (until his faith gave out), this bold individual known as The Rock failed the test more than once. For example, Matthew 26 tells us about Peter’s declaration to stand by Jesus — and even die, if necessary — no matter what. But only hours after the Savior’s betrayal and arrest, Peter denied even knowing him. And not just once, but three times!

That’s sobering stuff. But the good news is that God understands our human limitations. What’s more, his steadfast love for us brings redemption.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness,” we read in 1 John.

And then there's this reassuring promise from Proverbs:

“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

It’s when we desperately need a mulligan to erase our failures — whether we’re on or off the golf course — that we can always count on God’s undeserved kindness. We just need to confess our shortfalls to Jesus in faith. The result is a clean scorecard: a complete and total do-over.

“How far has the Lord taken our sins from us?” the Psalmist asks. “Farther than the distance from east to west!”

 

A Higher Purpose

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

– 1 Corinthians 12:12

According to the Retail TouchPoints website, Amazon and its Amazon Marketplace vendors sell over 350 million products — and each one has an intended purpose. 

People are also designed with an intended purpose or calling. And when it comes to Christ-followers like you and me, the Bible reveals that our Creator has given us certain gifts, talents, and resources for advancing his kingdom on Earth. For example, singers and musicians might use their gifts to lead Sunday morning worship. And accountants, bookkeepers, and office managers can focus their talents on helping the church operate efficiently. Likewise, those same gifts and talents have applications in the secular world, which can also help identify their owner’s purpose or calling.

Have you found yours?

If not, your search should begin with regular prayer, Bible study, and discernment — the ongoing functions of living, thinking, and acting to distinguish between right and wrong — and the essential from the secondary. Meanwhile, your daily circumstances, trials, and crises also blend into the mix. But it’s your service that often reveals the answer. That’s because we’re all called to be Jesus’ hands and feet in our community … and across the globe. It’s no coincidence that Believers who complete a mission trip or other acts of service say that they gained far more from the experience than those they sought to help. 

“In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served,” explains Jesus. “He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people."

With that in mind, let’s ask God to reveal his higher purpose for us — and then turn our faith into words and deeds that can change the world.

Good Enough

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death."

– Romans 8:1-2

How would you label yourself with a single word? Would you say generous, energetic, or perhaps successful?

How about broken?

The fact is that we’re all broken in one way or another. But the good news for Christ-followers is that we worship a Creator who truly understands. And whether we're the victim or the victimizer in our shattered state, God's grace is enough to overcome it.

What’s grace? 

It’s God's blessings to undeserving people like you and me. There's nothing we can do to earn it. Instead, we just need to accept it, embrace it, and live it with transformed lives through our faith in Jesus. Grace is also what keeps us together when everything is coming apart. In 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul wrote about his own brokenness and how God answered his prayers through the power of grace:

“… Three times I begged the Lord for it to leave me, but his reply has been, ‘... My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

God knew our names before the world was formed. He also knew when and where we’d be born, what sort of lives we’d lead, and when we’d die. Moreover, he knew that we’d need a Savior. That’s because we've all fallen short (sinned) against his perfect standards and can never save ourselves from the resulting judgment we deserve. So, God chose to do it himself by personally living out the human experience on Earth through his Son, Jesus Christ.

As God with us, Jesus understands our sorrows, shortcomings, and brokenness. And he’s also promised Believers that he’ll never leave them or forget them. Because, when everything inevitably fails and we’re not good enough, God always is.

Nothing Succeeds Like Success

In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him.

– 1 Samuel 18:14

Climbing the career ladder, beating tight deadlines, and closing the deal are all marks of success in Western society. What’s more, millions of Americans skip or cut short their well-earned vacations because they’re afraid to fall behind at work. They think they just can’t find the time in their busy schedules.

But is that what success is all about? 

Jesus had only three years to complete his mission of saving the world from the penalty of sin. He cured disease, raised the dead, and even calmed raging storms with just a word. With such a full calendar, it seems like Jesus would have little or no time to socialize. But the Bible tells us that he did make a special effort to enjoy quality time with those who mattered most to him. And more than 2,000 years later, it’s safe to say that his ministry was a successful one.

We can read in Luke’s Gospel about Jesus’ visit to the home of his friends Martha and Mary. While Martha busily prepared the food and straightened the house for the gathering, her sister Mary decided to take a few minutes and listen to the Savior’s message. Martha soon became upset with Mary’s attitude and complained to Jesus about the apparent injustice. But instead of scolding Mary, Jesus commended her for choosing the most important thing: Quality time with him.

It was Mary who succeeded that day. But what’s success for modern-day Christ-followers like you and me? Let’s remember that we’re called to be Jesus’ hands and feet on earth while we wait for his return. Until then, God wants us to help prepare his Kingdom by making the most of our talents, gifts ... and time. And it’s by adopting a mindset and lifestyle of service that we’ll become more like Christ:

“In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served,” Jesus explains. “He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people."

As Believers, we can rest assured that our worth comes from what Jesus has already done for us. Let’s never forget this triumphant passage from the apostle Paul’s letter to Christ-followers in Ephesus:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

That's what success is all about.

Weekend Warriors

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

– Galatians 3:28-29

Whether it’s switching out a bathroom light fixture, installing a kitchen countertop, or building a backyard patio, completing a do-it-yourself project is one of the most satisfying aspects of home ownership. Big box stores like The Home Depot and Lowe’s cater to the millions of so-called Weekend Warriors who literally make it greener on the other side of the fence. And for those seeking guidance and inspiration for their DIY projects, it’s as close as cable television’s HGTV and The Magnolia Network or the time-tested This Old House TV series and magazine.

We can credit this to our modern Information Age. And if we choose to follow the expert advice found on social media and TV, there’s often no need to hire a master carpenter or plumber to complete our project. Ordinary Joes and Jo-Anns really can save big bucks by doing it themselves.

There’s a similar principle throughout the Bible: God chooses the weak, the unwanted … and the otherwise unqualified to get the job done. And it’s no coincidence that much of the New Testament revolves around a group of unlikely amateurs who learn their skills from a Master Craftsman (Jesus). Some were fishermen, one was a tax collector, and another (Simon the Zealot) might be considered a terrorist by today’s standards.

Their project was to change the world for Christ’s kingdom one person at a time. And since that tall assignment continues to this day, it’s no surprise that God still chooses society’s outsiders to turn the unfeasible into the achievable.

“That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties,” explains the apostle Paul. “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Indeed, today God accomplishes much via the weaknesses of a different type of Weekend Warrior. Through their contributions and work in churches, food pantries, the Salvation Army, and similar organizations, families are fed, clothed, and housed. The sick are cured with the help of health care professionals who also happen to put their faith in Jesus. And still other Christ-followers teach the illiterate to read and the undereducated to gain critical life and job skills.

When you and I are desperate to be included, we’ll do whatever it takes to fit in and avoid rejection. But God doesn’t leave us as outsiders. He wants the unwanted like us to come as we are and become like his Son. As we read in Acts 4:13:

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Love Language

 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

— Romans 8:38-39

Love is a remarkable English word with a broad scope of meanings and implications. We say that we love our spouse, love our church, and love pizza. What’s more, we’d love our favorite football team to win the Super Bowl. On the other hand, Hebrew and ancient Greek — the languages of the Bible — have several words for love including agape (self-sacrificial love), hesed (loving kindness), eros (romantic love), and phileo (fraternal or friendly love). And Genesis 22:2 uses the word ahab to convey the intensely close emotional bond between Abraham and his son Isaac.

While we might broadly consider love to be a thing, it’s also very much an action word … and Jesus is our example. The apostle John wrote that “we love Him because He first loved us.” And then there’s John 3:16, which summarizes God’s good news (the Gospel) to mankind:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

That’s very good news — especially considering that we’re imperfect people who constantly break God’s perfect law through our thoughts, words, and deeds. Moreover, we can’t save ourselves from the resulting punishment we rightfully deserve. But Jesus, who was sinless, paid that exorbitant price for us by dying on a cross between two criminals. And then as the Old Testament had prophesied (predicted) centuries earlier, Christ defeated death and the power of sin by rising to life.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends,” John 15:13 explains. And in 1 John 3:1, the apostle adds: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

The lesson for you and me is that rather than trying to earn love from God or others, we can rest in our Creator’s love because he’s already freely given it to us through Christ’s sacrifice. It just goes to show that ours is a Savior who speaks the ultimate love language.