Much is Required:
"For everyone to whom much is given, from
him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they
will ask the more." Luke 12:48
Simply by living in a country like ours, we fall into
the "much has been given" category. Compared to the majority of
the world, we truly have an embarrassment of riches. Don't believe me; then go
somewhere else (this is a digression from the topic at hand, so I won't stay
here long, but we in America have an increasingly small world view and it can
really only change by getting out of our bubbles and seeing what else is out
there. Again, another topic, another day). We are blessed with so much more than
what we need; more clothes, more money, more food, more stuff; and still our
closed-hand Christianity causes us to struggle with letting go of even the 10%
we say belongs to God. Not only have we more than we need materially, but
we have also been given so much wealth spiritually speaking. We can
worship publicly, openly, without fear of government persecution. We have
many universities dedicated to furthering biblical knowledge and understanding.
We have instant access to worship music, sermon podcasts, theological
newsletters, books, commentaries. Hundreds of times a year we can attend
day to week long conferences designed to encourage and inform Christians and to
grow our communities for further encouragement. My team and I were in a country
that politically and socially threatens and ostracizes Christians and they
still, risking persecution, meet together, sing praises together and pursue
further biblical knowledge together. They put into practice what it
really means to be the church. Acts 2: 44-45 says of the early
church, "all who believed were
together, and had all things in common, and sold their
possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need."
This perfectly describes the way the Christians we stayed with lived. Note that these verses do not speak of law or government or even of the established
leaders of specific churches compelling or forcing its members into this
activity. No, with joy and ease they saw that their blessings were not for
hoarding or for self pleasure only, but they they were blessed so that they in
turn could bless others (see those "good works" that were planned for
us). For some this meant money, for others hospitality, for others
teaching and serving. Our missionary friends use their home to shelter
any who have need, they provide food even when they don't have enough
themselves, and they show the love of God that is in their hearts to believer
and non-believer alike (and if they are non-believers, they rarely are by the
time they leave). They also actively teach and practice the doctrine of
firstfruits. "The first of the firstfruits of your
land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God"(Exodus 23:19). When
they give someone a goat, the first kid is given back to the church.
People aren't looking to be blessed only; so much more blessing comes
from paying forward what has been given you. We cannot know what joy we
miss out on when we live in fear of losing what we have rather than being open
to our lives being used for the blessing of others. This
isn't oppressing! This isn't suffering! It's a joy. And we're
missing it! Imagine with me for a minute. Imagine that Christians didn't
stop when they achieved 10% giving? What would it looked like if we really
acted out our professed faith? If we can trust God with securing our eternal
salvation, should we not all the more trust Him with providing for our needs so
that we can live as the church should be living? What would happen if instead
of the minimum, we trusted God enough to say, "I'm going to keep what I
need to get by and everything else will go back to God"? Can you even
imagine that? Can you imagine how this world would change. I live in a
city that is business-centered and is, compared to most cities, quite expensive
to live in. I am well acquainted with seeing a paycheck disappear in a
few bills, a tank of gas and a night out. I'm not saying that we should
just give every cent away and expect God to right a check to the electric
company. But, guys, we have been given brains for a reason. I'll
never claim to be good at math, but I know how Starbucks adds up; I know how
much cable costs (and how much time it takes from us). What if we decided
to stop being Christians in name only, Christians only when it is convenient and
instead we were radical followers of Jesus Christ? I can tell you what would
happen. I may not know every area that this would affect; I don't know
how many hungry people would have food, how many naked people would have
clothes, how many girls wouldn't be sold for their bodies because their
families had the money they needed; but I know what would happen in our own
hearts. Instead of relying on our jobs, our hours, our hard work to get
by, we would understand that relying on Christ is so much better. We
would have the faith to move mountains when we saw God provide and continue to
bless us; blessings upon blessings! My dad always says that we can't afford to
stop giving. When we use what we have been given for the Lord, He will
not withhold future blessings. He will give them all the more. He
is Faithful. Don't you want to know what the hymn writer felt when He penned
these words:
“Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have
needed Thy hand hath provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!"
I long to rely on the Lord and not myself for all that I need.
Why would we forgo that blessing just to worry about our problems by ourselves?
Let's put our faith into action. I promise we won't forget it.
Remember to consider the lilies.
"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they
neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes
the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
how much more will He clothe you, O you of little
faith?" Luke 12:27
