Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:10-11
“A great many people are terrified that sometime soon the earth will run out of petroleum deposits. In that view, fossil fuels are a zero-sum game—there is a strict, finite limit on how much oil exists underground, and when that oil is all pumped out, our cars will all wheeze to a halt.
That fear is behind the push for renewable resources, that is, drawing energy from theoretically infinite sources such as the sun, wind, and falling water. More and more we see solar panels and giant wind turbines sprouting up. More and more ethanol plants are being built that derive their energy output from plants.
Do you see giving money back to God as a zero-sum game (if he gets more of my money, then I get less; soon I’ll have nothing)? Did you know that God solemnly guarantees to be an endlessly renewable resource for cheerful givers?”
Mark Jeske in Time of Grace blog entitled “Renewable Resources” and posted on 17 August 2017. Special thanks to Daily Meditations reader, Greg Schuyler of St. Croix Lutheran High School, for sharing this reading with me.
While this post seemed fitting as we entertain out-of-town guests considering a big cross-country move, it really applies to everyone. Think about it.
If God is not an “endlessly renewable resource” then neither our friends nor anyone else should entrust their lives and their future to God and His promises, and no one should be hilariously generous, though God loves cheerful givers (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:6).
Alternatively, if however God is “endlessly renewable resource” then we should live like we believe it. We should be generous at all times and on all occasions. Why? Not because we are loaded but because He is.
The world’s economy functions with a scarcity mindset and uses “zero-sum game” thinking as it’s proverbial operating system. God’s economy, alternatively, reflects abundance at every turn. When we sacrifice, we don’t end up empty, but rather, enriched.
Do you live like you believe this? Or maybe more importantly, would others say you live like you do? While I will admit, “endlessly renewable resource” may not be the best description for us as finite beings to describe an infinite God, it gets the point across.
Since He is that and more, let us resolve to live, give, serve, and love generously, because there is no end to the life, provision, strength, and love of God!