Meditations

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 2 Corinthians 8:1-2

“It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian breth­ren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us, that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed.

Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.

The measure with which God bestows the gift of visible community is varied. The Christian in exile is comforted by a brief visit of a Christian brother, a prayer together and a brother’s blessing; indeed, he is strengthened by a letter writ­ ten by the hand of a Christian. The greetings in the letters written with Paul’s own hand were doubtless tokens of such community.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together (New York: HarperOne, 1954) 20-21.

Our journey through Paul’s letters brings us to 2 Corinthians, and chapters 8-9 provide some of the richest teaching on generosity in the New Testament. That text (today’s Scripture) begins with these words from the Apostle Paul. He was so excited about the generosity of the grace given the Macedonians that he wanted to share their story with the Corinthians.

Coupled with this, Bonhoeffer’s classic work reminds us today that Paul wrote these letters as tokens that celebrated the gift of community. In plain terms, Paul wanted the Corinthians to join in the collection because they were part of something bigger, the global community of recipients of the grace of Jesus Christ.

I don’t know about you, but Covid has sure caused me to appreciate the gracious gift that community is for each of us. But we can “reach out and touch someone” with a text, an email, a voice message, as well as a personal visit. How might this be an aspect of your generosity that is worth more than money?

Today I am taking the day of to rest, have coffee with my daughter, and clean my office. Funny how piles stack up around us. I may do some other things too. Not sure. I plan to message some people, as God leads. Join me. Let’s share this gift of grace, spreading love and Christian community today.

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

“But there is another kind of suffering, known only to the Christian: it is voluntary suffering deliberately and knowingly incurred for the sake of Christ. Such is a luxury, a treasure of fabulous value, a source of riches beyond the power of the mind to conceive. And it is rare as well as precious, for there are few in this decadent age who will of their own choice go down into this dark mine looking for jewels. But of our own choice it must be, for there is no other way to get down. God will not force us into this kind of suffering; He will not lay this cross upon us nor embarrass us with riches we do not want.

Such riches are reserved for those who apply to serve in the legion of the expendables who love not their lives unto the death, who volunteer to suffer for Christ’s sake and who follow up their application with lives that challenge the devil and invite the fury of hell. Such as these have said goodbye to the world’s toys; they have chosen to suffer affliction with the people of God; they have accepted toil and suffering as their earthly portion. The marks of the cross are upon them and they are known in heaven and in hell.”

A.W. Tozer in “The Use of Suffering” in The Root of the Righteous (1955) 75.

Today marks Veteran’s Day when America give thanks for those who have served in the military. I am grateful for their service. People who are dear to me (too many to list) number among the ranks.

But I also want to point us to another group of unsung heroes today. They have no holiday. These are the guys and gals who “chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things” as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians.

These are, in the words of A.W. Tozer, “the legion of the expendables.” They love not their lives unto death but volunteer their service to God. I work with them all over the world with GTP.

Want to join this legion?

Tozer says this group says “goodbye to the world’s toys” and instead chooses to suffer “affliction with the people of God.” In so doing, they discover not loss, but rather, unfathomable gain.

Who are the people of God?

Most people wrongly define this as brothers and sisters in their country. As we move to 1 Corinthians (I am working through his letters chronologically), it is now A.D. 54 and Paul is in Roman Asia.

He is from Tarsus, sitting in Ephesus, and writing to Greece. The people of God are an international people. This “legion of the expendables” is a global community willing to sacrifice all for Christ.

Do you number among the ranks of this group?

If we want to boast about anything in this life, anything at all, let us boast in the Lord. In Him are fabulous riches. Any sacrifice for Him results in treasure of incomparable value.

I also salute “the legion of the expendables” today. God be with you all over the globe.

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

“There is much emphasis on notoriety and fame in our society. Our newspapers and television keep giving us the message: What counts is to be known, praised, and admired, whether you are a writer, an actor, a musician, or a politician. Still, real greatness is often hidden, humble, simple, and unobtrusive. It is not easy to trust ourselves and our actions without public affirmation. We must have strong self-confidence combined with deep humility. Some of the greatest works of art and the most important works of peace were created by people who had no need for the limelight. They knew that what they were doing was their call, and they did it with great patience, perseverance, and love.”

Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) in “Hidden Greatness” in Bread for the Journey (New York: HarperCollins) Reading for 25 February.

Moving along in Paul’s letters chronologically, we come to 1 Thessalonians. In this letter, Paul, Silas, and Timothy remind the Thessalonians that they remembered their “work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Or in Nouwen’s works, as they pursued their calling, God saw their “hidden greatness” though maybe it would not make them famous in the view of the world. I find that so much of our generous service for God goes unnoticed. Much of what we do is not glamorous. It’s actually quite monotonous.

We can do it generously, however, not for others, but for God who is watching. Afresh today, let us resolve to chose generosity that not only does not make the limelight, but has no need for it because we serve an audience of One. God, be glorified through our patience, perseverance, and love. Amen.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20

“Oh, we find the Christian life so difficult because we seek for God’s blessing while we live in our own will. We should be glad to live the Christian life according to our own liking. We make our own plans and choose our own work, and then we ask the Lord Jesus to come in and take care that sin shall not conquer us too much, and that we shall not go too far wrong; we ask Him to come in and give us so much of His blessing. But our relationship to Jesus ought to be such that we are entirely at His disposal, and every day come to Him humbly and straightforwardly and say: “Lord, is there anything in me that is not according to Thy will, that has not been ordered by Thee, or that is not entirely given up to Thee?”

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) in Absolute Surrender (Grand Rapids: CCEL) 67.

I was praying about where to shift my reading yesterday, and I felt let to return to the Pauline letters coupled with Christian classics for a time. I hope you appreciate them too.

Today, that leads us to Paul’s first letter, Galatians. Therein he wanted the Galatians to realize what happens to us when we follow Christ. We no longer live but Christ lives in and through us. Soak in that idea for a bit.

This means, according to Murray, that our lives are now lived “entirely at His disposal.” But how often, as Murray states, do we find this life hard because we really just want God to bless our will and plans.

The decision rests with each of us. Will we humbly and straightforwardly surrender everything to God or will we try to follow God along with our own plans and desires?

Think about it. There’s no such thing as partial surrender. We either surrender or we don’t.

But our fear of absolute surrender links to thinking that, if we do it, we will end up empty and destitute. In reality, emptying or dying to self is the only pathway to enrichment and deliverance.

This links to generosity because when those who surrender appear as conduits of blessing rather than containers. Going all the way back to Abraham, God’s design is to bless us to be a blessing.

It requires absolute surrender.

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets. Luke 6:24-26

“But it will be well to note what class of people takes comfort in the thought of God. Surely not that perverse and crooked generation to whom it was said, ‘Woe unto you that are rich; for ye have received your consolation’…

It is meet that those who are not satisfied by the present should be sustained by the thought of the future, and that the contemplation of eternal happiness should solace those who scorn to drink from the river of transitory joys…

In that day those who set not their hearts aright will feel, too late, how easy is Christ’s yoke, to which they would not bend their necks and how light His burden, in comparison with the pains they must then endure.

O wretched slaves of mammon, you cannot glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ while you trust in treasures laid up on earth: you cannot taste and see how gracious the Lord is, while you are hungering for gold. If you have not rejoiced at the thought of His coming, that day will be indeed a day of wrath to you.”

Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153) in On Loving God (CSD) excerpt from chapter 4, page 7.

In today’s Scripture, Jesus proclaims the woes on the rich. Later, He offers further explanation. His followers cannot serve God and mammon. Few, however, connect the dots and declare the judgment on those who trust in riches like Bernard of Clairvaux.

Let me explain how I believe this relates to generosity.

Rather than pursue transitory joys, the fruit of God’s work in followers of Christ is generosity. We serve not as containers but rather conduits of blessing. But, one of the leading hindrances to generosity is the desire for money and the hunger for gold.

This hunger takes shape as wanting an income stream or measure of wealth to sustain a standard of living. This is yoking with mammon. Those who do not only miss out on the easy yoke of Christ. For Bernard, they get the reward of the unrighteous, that is judgment.

Growing in generosity is about learning to trust that Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light. It’s about discovering that He’s the only thing that satisfies in a world field with transitory joys. Unfathomable blessings await the obedient.

Bernard would add that endless disappointment follows those who trust in mammon.

So, if you want to grow in generosity, set your heart right. Pursue God rather than transitory pleasures. Find your joy in God and not in the gifts He supplies. But do this one step at a time. That’s why we taste and see how good and gracious is our God.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6

“God being replenished with a goodness which surpasses all praise and honour, receives no advantage nor increase by all the benedictions which we give Him. He is neither richer nor greater, nor more content or happy by them, for His happiness, His content, His greatness, and His riches neither are nor can be any other thing than the divine infinity of His goodness. At the same time, since, according to our ordinary estimation, honour is held one of the greatest effects of our benevolence towards others, and since by it we not only do not imply any indigence in those we honour, but rather protest that they abound in excellence, we therefore make use of this kind of benevolence towards God, who not only approves it, but exacts it, as suitable to our condition, and so proper to testify the respectful love we bear Him, that He has ordained we should render and refer all honour and glory unto Him.

Thus then the soul who has taken a great complacency in God’s infinite perfection, seeing that she cannot wish Him any increase of goodness, because He has infinitely more than she can either wish or conceive, desires at least that His name may be blessed, exalted, praised, honoured and adored ever more and more. And beginning with Her own heart, she ceases not to provoke it to this holy exercise, and, as a sacred bee, flies hither and thither amongst the flowers of the divine works and excellences, gathering from them a sweet variety of complacencies, from which she works up and composes the heavenly honey of benedictions, praises, and confessions of honour, by which, as far as she is able, she magnifies and glorifies the name of her well-beloved.”

Francis de Sales (1567-1622) in “How Holy Benevolence Produces the Praise of the Divine Well-Beloved” in his classic work, Treatise on the Love of God (Grand Rapids: CCEL) 207-208.

I started meeting with a new spiritual director, Bruce Tallman, who pointed me to this work in our recent conversation. As I read a few excerpts from it today, this picture of a sacred bee struck me.

The flowers come into view in my mind as the beauty and goodness of God. And yet, a little bee is sacred or set apart to taste the flowers and, in so doing, pollinates them and participates in the spreading of their beauty.

That’s what we do when we celebrate the generosity and goodness of God which is abundant. We participate in spreading it widely like a sacred bee. May our lives proclaim God’s generous love today and everyday! Amen.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. John 3:16-18

“Behold, most beloved reader, thus true faith or true knowledge begets love, and love begets obedience to the commandments of God…

For true evangelical faith is of such a nature that it cannot lay dormant; but manifests itself in all righteousness and works of love; it does unto flesh and blood; destroys all forbidden lusts and desires; cordially seeks, serves and fears God; clothes the naked; feeds the hungry; consoles the afflicted; shelters the miserable; aids and consoles all the oppressed; returns good for evil; serves those that injure it; prays for those that persecute it; teaches, admonishes, and reproves with the Word of the Lord; seeks that which is lost; binds up that which is wounded; heals that which is diseased and saves that which is sound. The persecution, suffering, and anxiety which befalls it for the sake of the truth of the Lord, is to it a glorious joy and consolation.

All those who have a faith as is here mentioned, namely, a faith that makes desirous to walk in the commandments of the Lord, and which shows itself in all righteousness, love, and obedience, also acknowledge that the word and will of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ is true wisdom, truth, and life.”

Menno Simons (1496-1561) in “Menno’s Reasons for Teaching and Writing” in The Complete Works of Menno Simons (Elkhart: John Funk and Brother, 1871) 246

The speaking went well serving Black Rock Retreat on Thursday, and then yesterday Jenni and I enjoyed special time with dear friends, Peter and Bethany Fiorello, in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, area. The old chocolate factory in Lititz is pictured above. What an amazing region!

The influence of Menno Simons persists to this day in the lives of the Amish and Mennonite groups. While I cannot speak to their traditions as compared to biblical truth, what I can say is that their faith is rooted in obedience to Jesus Christ which manifests itself through works of love.

What about your faith? Is it dormant? Do people know you are a follower of Jesus because of the acts of love they see? Father in heaven, empower us by your Holy Spirit so people see your love through our living, giving, and serving. Hear my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Now concerning the collection for the saints: you should follow the directions I gave to the churches of Galatia. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. 1 Corinthians 16:1-2

“Only fix even the smallest amount you purpose to give of your income, and give this regularly; and as God is pleased to increase your light and grace, and is pleased to prosper you more, so give more. If you neglect an habitual giving, a regular giving, a giving from principle and upon scriptural ground, and leave it only to feeling and impulse, or particular arousing circumstances, you will certainly be a loser.

A merchant in the United States said in answer to inquiries relative to his mode of giving, “In consecrating my life anew to God, aware of the ensnaring influence of riches and the necessity of deciding on a plan of charity, before wealth should bias my judgment, I adopted the following system:

I decided to balance my accounts as nearly as I could every month, reserving such portion of profits as might appear adequate to cover probable losses, and to lay aside, by entry on a benevolent account, one tenth of the remaining profits, great or small, as a fund for benevolent expenditure, supporting myself and family on the remaining nine tenths. I further determined, that, if at any time my net profits, that is profits from which clerk-hire and store expenses had been deducted, should exceed five hundred dollars in a month, I would give 124 percent; if over seven hundred dollars, 15 percent; if over nine hundred dollars, 174 percent; if over thirteen hundred dollars, 221 percent—thus increasing the proportion of the whole as God should prosper me, until at fifteen hundred dollars I should give 25 per cent or 375 dollars.

As capital was of the utmost importance to my success in business, I decided not to increase the foregoing scale until I had acquired a certain capital, after which I would give one quarter of all net profits, great or small, and, on the acquisition of another certain amount of capital, I decided to give half, and, on acquiring what I determined would be a full sufficiency of capital, then to give the whole of my net profits.

It is now several years since I adopted this plan, and under it I have acquired a handsome capital, and have been prospered beyond my most sanguine expectations. Although constantly giving, I have never yet touched the bottom of my fund, and have repeatedly been sur prised to find what large drafts it would bear. True, during some months, I have encountered a salutary trial of faith, when this rule has led me to lay by the tenth while the remainder proved inadequate to my support; but the tide has soon turned, and with gratitude I have recognized a heavenly hand more than making good all past deficiencies.”

George Muller in George Muller and His Witness to a Prayer Hearing God, compiled by Arthur T. Pierson (New York: Baker and Taylor, 1899) 443-445.

Don’t miss the tone of Muller’s teaching for us before he shares the story of an American merchant. He wants us to set up habitual and proportionate giving so that we don’t lose out on the opportunity to grow in generosity.

When we don’t grow our giving as God supplies, we are the ones who miss out.

Then, don’t let the math of the American merchant throw you off. He kept the Master’s resources working in the business and as God increased his revenues, he increased his giving on a system. Do you have such a system?

This is a scale or pattern that guides you as a steward to give proportionately.

Do this not because Muller or some merchant says you are a loser if you don’t do it. Do it because you realize with eagerness that you are blessed to be a blessing. And because Paul’s directions for the Corinthians in today’s Scripture relate also to us.

God wants us to give habitually and proportionately as his heavenly hand supplies.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Psalm 24:1

“It is the Lord’s order, that, in whatever way He is pleased to make us His stewards, whether as to temporal or spiritual things, if we are indeed acting as stewards and not as owners, He will make us stewards over more. Even in this life, and as to temporal things, the Lord is pleased to repay those, who act for Him as stewards, and who contribute to His work or to the poor, as He may be pleased to prosper them? But how much greater is the spiritual blessing we receive, both in this life and in the world to come, if constrained by the love of Christ, we act as God’s stewards, respecting that, with which He is pleased to entrust us!”

George Muller in George Muller and His Witness to a Prayer Hearing God, compiled by Arthur T. Pierson (New York: Baker and Taylor, 1899) 442-443.

Jenni and I flew to Baltimore to speak at an event today at Black Rock Retreat on the ripple effect of generosity. So excited to meet up with dear friends, Peter and Bethany Fiorello.

When stewards follow the Lord’s orders, He is pleased to prosper them and resource their generosity. Our role is not to act as owners but to put God’s resources to work as stewards.

Why follow the Lord’s orders? We discover that it maps the way to life and unfathomable spiritual blessings in this life and in the world to come.

And it creates a ripple effect of exponential impact, whether we are serving the poor and lifting them up or making known the love of God to those who have never experienced it.

One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. Proverbs 11:24

“I have every reason to believe, that, had I begun to lay up, the Lord would have stopped the supplies, and thus, the ability of doing so was only apparent. Let no one profess to trust in God, and yet lay up for future wants, otherwise the Lord will first send him to the hoard he has amassed, before He can answer the prayer for more.”

George Muller in George Muller and His Witness to a Prayer Hearing God, compiled by Arthur T. Pierson (New York: Baker and Taylor, 1899) 442-443.

In my own journey I have found it to be true. I was guilty for years of storing up treasures on earth clearly ignoring the command of Jesus not to so. I acted like I knew better.

Proverbs reveals what happens when we profess to trust but don’t do it in actuality. It leads to poverty rather than generosity. Few express this as clearly and concisely as Muller.

Thus, the key to avoiding poverty and unleashing generosity is to help rather than hoard. This is no prosperity gospel, but rather pure gospel. Obedience to the commands of Jesus.

How does the Spirit within you stir when you read this? For some, it convicts them to put to work what God has supplied. For others, it inspires them to keep helping others.

Sit with the LORD and follow His leading in your response. And say a prayer for Jenni and me. We fly to the East Coast to sow this truth in hearts at Black Rock Retreat tomorrow.