Archives by: Gary Hoag

“Generosity is a sign of a regenerate soul.”

Kent Hughes, former pastor of College Church in Wheaton, IL, as recounted by David Mathis in Desiring God blogpost dated 22 August 2014.

Even as construction signs are bright orange and school zones signs are yellow, may God’s work reflected in rich generosity be obvious in your life and mine today (cf. 1 Timothy 5:25).

“We want God to be our heavenly Santa Claus…Santa gives. He doesn’t lay down any conditions prior to giving the gifts, even if parents lamely try to warn little imps that Santa gives only to good boys and girls. After dispensing his gifts, Santa makes no demands…

Some scholars of popular religion describe Santa as a god of consumerist materialism whose sole purpose is to give. And indeed, many people think of God in this way, as Santa Claus conveniently enlarged to divine proportions. God is an infinitely rich, always available, and unfailingly generous giver—or at least, that’s what we feel a god worth of divinity ought to be. God gives without conditions and without demands. As the sun shines and spring flows, so God gives—solves our problems, fulfills our desires, and makes us feel good. A Santa Claus God demands nothing from us. A divine Santa is the indiscriminately giving and inexhaustibly fertile source of everything that is, and everything that is to come our way.

God is an inexhaustibly fertile source of everything. But is it true that God demands nothing? If it were true, how could Jesus urge us, as he does in the Sermon on the Mount, to be perfect as God is? Here is what we do as worshipers of a Santa Claus God: We embrace the conviction that God is an infinitely generous source of all good but conveniently forget that we were created in God’s image to be in some significant sense like God—not like God in God’s divinity, for we are human and not divine, but like God “in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24), like God in loving enemies (Matthew 5:44). To live well as a human being is to live in sync with who God is and how God acts…

Unlike Santa, God doesn’t just scatter gifts, smiling in blissful affirmation of who we are and what we do no matter who we happen to be and what we happen to do. God also urges us to do this or not to do that…God’s face twists in the pain of disappointment and even frowns in angry condemnation when we fail to live as we ought, bringing devastation to ourselves as well as to those around us.

God generously gives, so God is not a negotiator of absolute dimensions. God demands, so God is not an infinite Santa Claus. So what is the relation between God’s giving and God’s demanding? In other words, what is the difference between a Santa Claus God and a gift-giving God? The bare-bones answer is this: a Santa Claus God gives simply so we can have and enjoy things; the true God gives so we can become joyful givers and not just self-absorbed receivers. God the giver has made us to be givers and obliges us therefore to give.”

Miroslav Volf in Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005) 26-28.

After my post on 23 August 2014 on the topic of giving and forgiving, Howard Freeman, my dear friend from NYC, reminded me of Volf’s excellent work on the topic cited here. In revisiting this must-read book this morning, I want to remind us to both celebrate and imitate God’s generosity.

As a postscript, my motivation for mentioning Volf’s comments linked to Santa Claus today flow, at least in part, from where we are: settling into our townhouse feels like Christmas! What a gift! And yet, we are not here because we deserved this place or were entitled to it. It’s a gift from the Lord to be enjoyed and shared that positions us to grow as joyful givers.

“They, then, who lost their worldly [goods] all in the sack of Rome, if they owned their possessions as they had been taught by the apostle [Paul], who himself was poor without, but rich within, that is to say, if they used the world as not using it [cf. 1 Corinthians 7:31]…

But as to those feebler spirits who, though they cannot be said to prefer earthly possessions to Christ, do yet cleave to them with somewhat immoderate attachment, they have discovered by the pain of losing these things how much they were sinning in loving them.

For their grief is of their own making; in the words of the apostle quoted above, “they have pierced themselves through with many sorrows” [1 Timothy 6:10]. For it was well that they who had so long despised these verbal admonitions should receive the teaching of experience. For when the apostle says, “They that will be rich fall into temptation,” and so on what he blames in riches is not the possession of them, but the desire of them [1 Timothy 6:9].

For elsewhere he says, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” [1 Timothy 6:17-19].

They, who were making such use of their property, have been consoled for light losses by great gains, and have had more pleasure in those possessions which they have securely laid past, by freely giving them away, than grief in those which they entirely lost by an anxious and selfish hoarding of them. For nothing could perish on earth save what they would be ashamed to carry away from earth.”

Augustine (354-430), bishop of Hippo in City of God, excerpt from 1.10 entitled: “That the saints lose nothing in losing temporal goods.”

Last night marked our first night in our townhouse. We are so excited about this new step in our journey on which we are realizing more about attachment and detachment through our downsizing experience. On this first morning here Augustine’s comments on “immoderate attachment” awaken us: God help use the things of this world but avoid sinning by loving them.

“In Matthew 6:14, Jesus teaches us: If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their trespasses neither will your heavenly Father forgive you. Forgiveness is a gift we give to someone else, but when we give it, we are the real beneficiaries.”

Mark Hamby in Lamplighter Moments daily email entitled “Forgiveness” dated August 20, 2014.

Father, thank you for this fresh reminder to extend forgiveness to all who sin against us and for your generous gift of divine mercy and abundant grace to us in return.

Today we are celebrating. Sammy is settling into his new surroundings at Colorado Christian University! Classes start for him on Monday. He’s ready for this new season of life. So why celebrate? Certainly not because he’s “leaving” our home! We rejoice because God is “alive” in him as the lyrics to this song proclaim.

At moments like this, we are directing our thanks to God for His generosity toward us, for “every good thing” He is doing in Sammy’s life, and for bringing us to moments like this. And frankly, Sammy’s love for Christian music is part of the reason this song is in my iTunes! So today, I dedicate this song to Samuel David Hoag. He’s the man (Psalm 25:12)!

“Every Good Thing” from the “Life is Beautiful” CD by The Afters

I tend to be busier than I should be
And I tend to think that time is gonna wait for me
Sometimes I forget and take for granted
That it’s a beautiful life we live
I don’t wanna miss the moments like this
This is a beautiful life You give

You’re the reason for every good thing, every heartbeat
Every day we get to breathe
You’re the reason for anything that lasts, every second chance
Every laugh, life is so sweet
You’re the reason for every good thing, every good thing
Every good thing, every good thing…

There will be days that give me more than I can take
But I know that You always make beauty from my heartache
Don’t wanna forget or take for granted
That it’s a beautiful life we live
I’m not gonna miss the moments like this
This is a beautiful life You give

You’re the reason for every good thing, every heartbeat
Every day we get to breathe
You’re the reason for anything that lasts, every second chance
Every laugh, life is so sweet
You’re the reason for every good thing, every good thing
Every good thing, every good thing…

It’s our family, it’s our friends
It’s the feeling that I get when I see my children smile
You’re the reason for this life, everything we love
It’s You alive in us
You’re alive in us

You’re the reason for every good thing, every heartbeat
Every day we get to breathe
You’re the reason for anything that lasts, every second chance
Every laugh, life is so sweet
You’re the reason for every good thing, every good thing
Every good thing, every good thing…

You are, You are here in every moment,
And I know that You’re every good thing
You are, You are here in every moment,
And I know that You’re the reason for
Every good thing, every good thing…

“You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go always, not only to those that want you, but to those that want you most.”

John Wesley (1703-1791) as recounted by J.D. Walt in Seedbed Daily Text dated August 20, 2014. My good friend, J.D., adds these thoughtful comments on Wesley for us:

“Wesley started in the refined elite in the tall steeple churches but soon found himself out in the undignified fields with unsophisticated coal miners. Could this be one of the signs of where the Holy Spirit is working– those that want you the most? Be on the lookout for those people who are eager to “continue in the grace of God.” That’s where the Spirit is working.

How about you? Are you eager to continue in the grace of God? Or try this one–are you eager to be made eager to continue in the grace of God? The Spirit will always begin where you are. That’s the trouble with us. We don’t tend to want to admit where we actually are and so we don’t ever really go forward in the grace of God.

Here’s a great prayer: “Lord Jesus, I am willing to be made willing to give my life to you OR to re-gift my life to you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit until my willingness becomes your will in my life.” The Holy Spirit is attracted to Holy Discontent like lightening to a lightening rod. Make it known to Him.”

“I used to think generosity is something you would do. I now know generosity is something you are.”

Rebecca Hays in “Absolute Surrender” email from the Christian Leadership Alliance dated 12 August 2014.

When we take a posture of absolute surrender, generosity is not something we do from our strength and/or resources, but something we are in Christ: channels through which God blesses the world.

“Many Christians dread the thought of leaving this world. Why? Because so many have stored up their treasures on earth, not in heaven. Each day brings us closer to death. If your treasures are on earth, that means each day brings you closer to losing your treasures.”

Randy Alcorn in Treasure Principle (Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2001) 42.

Today’s meditation comes with a prayer that God will help each of us live more simply and give more generously and shift from stockpiling here (earth) to storing up treasures there (heaven) so that we look forward to our true home with great anticipation. Make it so, Lord Jesus.

“For the law of Christ is charity; since it has from Him bountifully bestowed on us its good things, and has patiently borne our evil things. We, therefore, then fulfill by imitation the law of Christ, when we both kindly bestow our good things, and piously endure the evil things of our friends.”

Gregory the Great (540-604) in The Book of Pastoral Rule as recounted in The Quotable Saint ed. Rosemary Ellen Guiley (New York: Visionary Living, 2002) 27.

May this rule guide our lives: kindly bestowing good and enduring evil with charity. In so doing, we will not only fulfill the law of Christ (cf. Galatians 6:1-2) but reflect also His generous love to the world!

“One of the reasons that hiddenness is such an important aspect of the spiritual life is that it keeps us focused on God. In hiddenness we do not receive human acclamation, admiration, support, or encouragement. In hiddenness we have to go to God with our sorrows and joys and trust that God will give us what we most need.

In our society we are inclined to avoid hiddenness. We want to be seen and acknowledged. We want to be useful to others and influence the course of events. But as we become visible and popular, we grow dependent on people and their responses and easily lose touch with God, the true source of our being. Hiddenness is the place of purification. In hiddenness we find our true selves.”

Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) in Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith (New York: HarperCollins, 1997) daily reading for August 14.

On this Lord’s day, consider taking a ten-minute, silent retreat. Remove yourself from people and distraction and ask God this question about yourself: Is my generosity coupled with hiddenness? Listen to the Holy Spirit, assess what you hear in light of the teachings of Scripture, respond obediently, and give thanks for the work of God in your life.