Meditations

“Our whole life should speak forth our thankfulness; every condition and place we are in should be a witness of our thankfulness; this will make the time and places we live in the better for us; when we ourselves are monuments of God’s mercy, it is fit we should be patterns of His praises, and leave monuments to others; we should think life is given to us to do something better than to live in; we live not to live; our life is not the end of itself, but the praise of the Giver.”

Richard Sibbes (1577-1635), English Theologian, as recounted by Edward Parsons Day in Day’s Collacon of Prose Quotations (International Printing and Publishing Office: New York, 1884) 936.

In this season of thanksgiving, we are are profoundly thankful for our family, friends and the many good gifts God has given us. One of them is a friendship with the Koeniger clan, who welcomed Sammy, Joy (our German Shorthair Pointer) and me into their pheasant hunting party a number of years ago.

We recently had another unforgettable weekend together with “Team Koeniger”. Sammy captured the experience in this YouTube video: St. Francis, KS Pheasant Hunting. Enjoy. Music by The Afters: Moments Like This. Even as this video witnesses our thankfulness for a great hunting outing, may our lives speak forth our thankfulness and, as monuments of God’s mercy, may we bring praise to the Giver.

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4

“In my experience the poor have always been more generous than the rich…I have had the privilege to serve and work with some of the most poor and abandoned communities in our nation. Though they may have had very little, what they had they freely and joyfully shared…They gave of their necessity, not of their surplus, and never asked if it was tax-deductible. In other words, they gave expecting nothing in return. They gave of themselves out of pure love and joy in their faith.

Our Lord surely looks upon the generosity of the poor with great love, just as Jesus did with the poor widow. Our Savior is calling us to give all we have in love for each other and in love of God. We as Christians are called to give of ourselves and hold nothing back. Our true sacrifice, which we are called to give to God and each other, is our very selves in service and love of each other. This is a terribly hard thing to do. But with the grace of God all things are possible.

Today let us pray for the grace to be a little more generous with ourselves to each other and to God, just as the poor widow in [Luke 21:1-4] did.” [2 Cor. 9:8]

Ted Dorcey in The Redemptorists of the Denver Province blogpost for 25 November 2013.

“Not what we say about our blessings but how we use them is the true measure of our thanksgiving.”

W.T. Purkiser (1910-1992), Nazarene preacher, scholar and author, as recounted by Donald Wilton in See You at the Finish Line (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006) 57.

“A generous man will, in his treatment of an enemy, resemble the sun, which pours light all around it, even upon the clouds that strive to dim its luster.”

Annie E. Lancaster as recounted in Day’s Collacon: An Encyclopedia of Prose Quotations (International Printing and Publishing Office: New York, 1884) 316.

This topic came to mind this morning because I read a wonderful paper written by my daughter, Sophie, entitled: “Is War Justified Violence?” After sharing a balanced argument for both sides of an incredibly complex topic, her conclusion centered on Christ, stating:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matthew 5:43-44) and that is just what Christ did, even down to his final words. Christ lived a life of love and peace, ministering to those around him and graciously enduring our sinful world, without once taking war-like action. He inspired the passion that burned in the hearts of so many martyrs. They chose to not take violent action or to inflict war upon their enemies. Although it comes at a high cost, your life, Christ set a selfless example of a parley requiring little from your enemy and sincerely revealing the love of God through you to them.”

The irony for me is that I wear a SHINE rubber bracelet as a daily reminder to pray for Sophie to reflect God’s love to others. Now when I see it I will also remember Lancaster’s words which echo Jesus. May God help Sophie, me and the rest of us “pour light even upon the clouds” generously loving even our enemies at all costs.

“The issues of wealth and poverty are complex…Anxiety about money is a disease among both those who have it and those who do not…Generous sharing of one’s goods can free one from the danger to the soul which lies coiled in the possession of things…The disciples are to handle material things so as to secure heaven and the future. How one handles property has eternal consequences…The life of the disciple is one of faithful attention to the frequent and familiar tasks of each day, however small or insignificant they may seem. The one faithful in today’s nickels and dimes is the one to be trusted with the big account [cf. Luke 16:1-13].”

Fred B. Craddock in Luke: Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) 189-191.

“Churches today increasingly spend resources on themselves and the needs and wants of those who attend their own congregations…It’s true that buildings and programs can be helpful, and we certainly want to attract unbelievers. But if we’re sticking to our biblical mandate we should attract people by “advertising” the sort of love and giving exhibited by Jesus, who called his followers to die to themselves…

Perhaps we should be more willing to give up our own gymnasiums and build them where safe after-school and summer activities are desperately needed. Perhaps instead of renovating our adequately functioning church to ensure that our carpet and wallpaper or sound system “keep up with the times,” we should invest in dilapidated or underserved churches in poorer places. Perhaps meeting in homes and other locations rather than in seldom-used “church offices” or rooms could save money to be used for missions.”

Jason Hood in “The Generous Church: Building a Budget that Reflects God’s Agenda” (Chattanooga: Generous Giving, 2006) 6-7.

If you want to read the entire article which includes seven suggestions to help make your church budget more biblical, search: The Generous Church: Building a Budget that Reflects God’s Agenda

“The Advent Conspiracy Project is all about spending less on Christmas gifts in order to give more to those that are in need, thereby loving them the way God intended us to. This allows us to worship fully the One that sent His only Son to be born in a manger for the salvation of mankind. Worship fully. Spend less. Give more. Love all.”

I’ve been working in Chicago and staying with my brother and his wife in Highland Park, IL, this week. For info on this program their church is promoting this Christmas, visit: www.adventconspiracy.com

“Generosity isn’t just for the rich. It’s not about those with excess giving to those who have little. Generosity is about displaying the character and heart of God.

I’m reminded of the story in the Gospel of Luke of the widow’s offering. A poor widow gave two small coins while the rich gave larger gifts. And yet Christ said she put in more than all the others because the rich were giving out of their wealth while the widow put in all that she had.

What does generosity look like in your life? Do you only give out of your wealth, or are you willing to cheerfully give all that you have in order to display the heart of God?”

Blanca Garcia, excerpt from November 12 blog post on thegenerouscity.com.

“Money betrays with false promises and conflicting loyalties. Seductively, it lures in a once godly ambition and converts it into a scheme to secure cash at all costs…

How do we know if we are being betrayed for money? If our lifestyle has surpassed our modest means and handcuffed our home, we have been betrayed by money. If we worry more about stuff and having a status symbol, we have been betrayed by money.

Moreover, we may be in the process of being exploited for money if our company or boss owns us. No margin for relationships, health, hobbies, emotions, family and faith is a warning sign to slow down, stop and objectively evaluate. Money’s betrayal steals…the remedy to money’s betrayal is generous living in the moment.

By God’s grace we release the unrighteous motivation to make money and replace it with devotion to Jesus and generosity to our community. We rest in who we are in Christ, not being tossed back and forth emotionally by feelings of letting people down, because eventually, we will let them down.

Our heart is to fear the Lord, not fear what people say, do or think about us. The reality is people think very little about us anyway. So, we die to self and stuff, and we live for Christ. We turn our backs on money’s betrayal and turn in trust to God and His loyalty.

Heavenly Father, I turn from money’s betrayal and turn toward You in trust of Your loyalty to me.”
 
Boyd Bailey in Wisdom Hunters daily e-devotional November 12, 2013.

“We focus on raising funds, not raising stewards … In America today, the most prevalent sin among Christians is our materialism and greed. Preachers are afraid to confront it as a core problem and offer the training needed to correct poor stewardship.”

Jeff Iorg, president of Golden Gate Seminary, as cited in Empty Tomb, 23rd Edition (Champaign, IL: 2013) 135.