Recently, I received a letter from the president of Asbury Theological Seminary, which contained this excerpt:
“Do you remember that classic scene where George and Mary are departing for their honeymoon and they witness a run on the bank? George rushes into the Bailey Building and Loan to calm the panic-stricken customers. When one unruly customer demands his money, George gives this explanation:
“You’re thinking of this place all wrong. As if I had the money back in the safe. The money is not here. Your money is in Joe’s house, right next to yours. And in the Kennedy house, and Mrs. Macklin’s house, and a hundred others…”
That is a great allegory for what it means to invest in Asbury Theological Seminary. If I could quote George Bailey, I’d like to say, “Your money is not here.” Your money is invested in Gideon, who is going to Nigeria to witness to Muslims within that country. Your money is supporting John, who is going back to Texas to plant a church that will reach the young agnostics around Houston. Your money is deposited to sustain Haley, and she is already involved in a campus ministry, reaching hundreds of students…”
George Bailey as recounted by Timothy C. Tennent, president of Asbury Theological Seminary, in a letter dated December 1, 2014.
Each year on Christmas eve my family watches George Bailey in the Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, so I could not help but share this clip from Tennent’s letter because it must shape our thinking related to Christian giving. When we give the money we possess, it is not stockpiled by ministries. It’s invested in God’s Kingdom and spread all around.