You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. Hebrews 10:36-39
“The Church possesses nothing but her faith. There are her rents, her revenues. The wealth of the Church is the support of the poor. Let them count up how many prisoners the temples have ransomed, what support they have afforded to the poor, to how many exiles they have ministered the means of life.”
Ambrose of Milan in Letter XVIII section 17 to Ambrose to Emperor Valentinian dated A.D. 384.
I was drawn to read the letters of Ambrose as it gives a glimpse into Early Church administration.
Here he states to the Emperor how the the Church operates. It’s greatest treasure is it’s faith. It operates for service to the needy and hurting and it relies on God to supply rent and revenue.
In antiquity, the most desperate people would flee to temples for asylum. The Church would literally purchase them from this prison of bad decisions. Basically the Church cherished what the world scorned and scorned what the world world cherishes.
God help us live by such faith to depend on you to sustain us whilst we care for the outcasts and the exiles. For without faith it is both impossible to please You and impossible to be generous.
As a new fiscal year begins for GTP, we resolve afresh to rely on God to supply rent and revenue to serve the needy not by giving them a handout that create dependencies but a hand up that builds disciples.