D. A. Carson: Using wealth for the kingdom

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33

“Disciples of Jesus…will seek first their Father’s kingdom and righteousness, assured that He will provide enough to cover their needs. And, industrious and honest as they may be, they will refuse to tie their lives and happiness to treasures which can be corrupted or stolen. And rich or poor, they will struggle to understand how best to please their Father by using the wealth he has entrusted to them.”

D.A. Carson in The Sermon on the Mount: An Evangelical Exposition of Matthew 5-7 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1978) 95.

My talks through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) have gone well this week. Thanks for your prayers. Almost done. Two days to go. Email me if you would like my teaching notes.

The adults at Family Camp here at Camp Spofford have taken hold of the keys to life in the kingdom (the beatitudes) and appear eager to follow the directions for living in the way of Jesus (the rest of the Sermon on the Mount).

One aspect of this life is using the wealth God has given each of us for kingdom purposes as one of the ways we demonstrate that we have taken hold of life in God. This requires intentional focus not to “tie our lives and happiness” to things, and only bind them to God.

Is this true in your life? Or is there some treasure that you are tied to?

The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matthew 6:22-23

“Heavenly treasure would have been associated with light and earthly treasure associated with darkness. Collecting treasure on earth would be equated with coveting. If a person’s heart is evil and covetous, then the body will be full of darkness. The determination of the heart to store up treasure either in heaven or on earth, creates either inner light or inner darkness.

The heart that is inclined toward good works and an attitude of giving will be full of light. The connotation is that when ones’ treasure is in heaven, that person is full of an internal light that comes from within. If a person is bent toward collecting earthly treasure, indicating greed, there will be darkness rather than internal light. It is therefore, the ethical character of a person (whether he is giving or greedy) that determines whether or not the eyes function properly as a lamp. If the person has no internal light, he would not be able to operate as a lamp, and in a manner of speaking, he would not be able to see.

If we look at this from an ethical context, the eye is affected by sinfulness which causes the light to go out, resulting in a loss of lamp light. A good eye reflects generosity and moral integrity and is a result of light within. Generosity is proof of light within, and greed is proof of darkness within. In a manner of speaking, generosity is the light, and greed is the darkness.”

Steven Wickstrom in his article “The Eye is the Lamp of the Body” on Matthew 6:22-23.

This quote serves as a helpful explanation of what many describe as a confusing element of these two verses from the Sermon on the Mount. May God help each of see, and have hearts filled with generosity as proof of the light within us. Make it so, Lord, by your Holy Spirit.

So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:2-4

“It belongs to the clean eye not to look for the praise of men in any right conduct nor to associate one’s good conduct with any idea of praise, that is, doing the right thing just to please men. For if you will be disposed also to simulate good, if your only consideration is man’s praise, because he, unable to see the heart, may praise even what is false. And those who do this, that is, who simulate goodness, have duplicity in their hearts. The heart of simplicity, that is, the clean heart, belongs only to him who lives beyond human praise and in his right living looks only to Him and strives to please only Him who alone reads the conscience. And whatever proceeds from the purity of such a conscience is praise-deserving in proportion to its lack of desire for human praise.”

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) in The Lord’s Sermon on the Mount translated by John J. Jepson (Ancient Christian Writers 5; Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1978) 93.

As I teach through the eight Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount over eight sessions at Camp Spofford in New Hampshire (which had this amazing sunset last night pictured in the header photo above), I am inspired as I read excerpts from both modern and ancient commentaries like this one.

Augustine of Hippo makes a profound point here that each of us we must consider. Rather than have duplicity in our hearts, which is doing good with wrong motives, let us exhibit a lack of desire for human praise with pure hearts. In other words, let’s do good today and every day because God is watching and will reward us!

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

“Beggars lived [in the days of Jesus] in a state of absolute dependence on the graciousness and generosity of others. “Poor in Spirit” means “beggarly in spirit,” and describes someone who is keenly aware that he [or she] is spiritually destitute and must rely entirely on the grace of God for salvation.”

Charles Quarrels in Sermon on the Mount: Restoring Christ’s Message to the Modern Church (Nashville: B & H Academic, 2011) 43

As a beggar relies on the graciousness and generosity of others, let us declare our dependence on God today. God, help us remain keenly aware of our need for You each and every day. Amen.

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

“If you have been blessed with riches, use them in such a way in this world that you will be building up a balance in the next…You do not realize it, but in doing these good deeds to these people, you have been building up your balance in heaven, there you will receive your reward and enter into the joy of our Lord.”

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) in Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976) 356.

We arrived at Camp Spofford yesterday (Spofford Lake, NH pictured above) and today I begin a series entitled, “Camp with Christ: Find Blessings and Life.” Pray with me for receptive hearts as I encourage God’s people to live out the teachings of Matthew 5-7. When we do, we find blessings, life and, eternally-speaking, we build up our balances in heaven. Hear my prayer, Lord Jesus.

Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? Matthew 20:15

“The ultimate reason why we must forgive instead of condemn is that God Himself does not condemn but forgives. Because He has freely chosen to put tenderness before law, we’re authorized to do the same. In the imagery of the parables, God is presented as the father rushing out to meet his son, the absurdly generous farmer who gives latecomers the same wage as day-long laborers, the judge hearing the prayer of the importunate widow…Jesus taught in the power of the Spirit that Christian giving and forgiving should copy God’s giving and forgiving. Acceptance is absolute—without inquiry into the past, without special conditions…as Christians living in the Spirit, we’re called to pass on the tenderness of God.”

Brennan Manning in The Wisdom of Tenderness: What Happens When God’s Fierce Mercy Transforms Our Lives (New York: HarperOne, 2004) 63-64.

We saw Les Miserables last night in NYC. My favorite scene is when the Bishop Myriel copies “God’s giving and forgiving” by not only forgiving Jean Valjean, he gives him all the treasures of the church to illustrate the love our “absurdly generous” God extends toward undeserving sinners.

Until we come to grips with how unbelievably generous Christ has been to us in our miserable condition of sin, we will never exhibit His generosity to the world! If you have never seen Les Miserables, watch it this holiday weekend! Or at least watch the Bishop scene on YouTube.

And if you are reading this in the USA, as you celebrate your freedom this weekend, focus on our greatest cause for celebration: that “God’s giving and forgiving” set us free from the chains of sin and gave us the riches of heaven! Thank you Jesus!

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

“Our deep hunger for communion is a precious gift from God and a true driving force of our spiritual journey. Our hunger for communion is the source of our faith, our hope, and our love. It is also the source of our unbelief, our despair and our fear. The way we live with our hunger for communion is the decisive factor in our lives…

It is precisely in communion with God through prayer that we discover the call to community. It is remarkable that solitude always calls us to community…We gather around us people with whom we want to proclaim the truth that we are the beloved sons and daughters of God. Community is not easy…

Why is it so important that solitude come before community? If we do not know we are the beloved sons and daughters of God, we are going to expect someone in the community to make us feel that we are. We will expect someone to give us that perfect, unconditional love.”

Henri Nouwen in A Spirituality of Living: The Henri Nouwen Spirituality Series (The Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust, 2011) 21f.

Generosity is about receiving and giving gifts from the Giver. Consider the gift of our hunger for communion. In Christ, we learn in solitude that nothing compares to being in Christ. This includes adoption into a family. We are the beloved sons and daughters of God.

Once we have learned this profound truth, that the hunger within each of us to belong can only be satisfied by Christ, we can celebrate community with others. It is not easy because of our humanness, however, it’s possible because we have found the unconditional love we need in Christ.

Today we fly to New York City as a family in communion together. We will be joined there by Sophie’s boyfriend, Peter Gomez. We are headed to see Les Miserables on Broadway and then we will head to Camp Spofford where I will teach next week in New Hampshire.

I am excited about Sophie and Peter’s relationship. It’s great that they are making good choices and that he wants to be a pastor, but what I love most is that they each possess a hunger for communion with Christ separately, so they come together as two “whole” people, rather than two needy people looking for the other person to give them only what Christ can.

The hunger for that which satisfies, the hunger for communion is a gift, a priceless gift from God. Have you received it? You will never be generous with others until you have. You will always relate to them looking for something in return. We show that we have received that gift for what it is when we extend communion to others, as fellow members as God’s family.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. Galatians 5:22-23

Generosity includes financial giving but goes far beyond that one area of life. In a chapter on stewardship as a spiritual discipline, Calhoun rightly reminds us that faithful stewards exhibit various God-given fruits.

– being liberated from greed, self-centeredness, money and other things so that the generous spirit of Jesus grows in you
– embracing generous hospitality toward those in need
– modeling God’s goodness and generosity
– awareness of your selfishness and lack of love for others
– living from the conviction that nothing belongs to you; you didn’t deserve it or earn it; it all came from God
– investing in the kingdom of God, building up treasure in heaven
– loving God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and loving your neighbor as yourself
– stewarding the earth and all your resources; freedom from the toxic disease of affluenza

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun in Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us (Downers Grove: IVP, 2005) 190.

Read the list again. Is there a fruit of generosity that may not be evident in your life? Or might you have room for growth in one of these areas? If so, ask the Father today, in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit, to transform you on the inside so that specific fruit appears on the outside in the days to come, for His glory.

A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. Luke 6:43-45

“To fulfill the high calling which God has placed upon us in creating us and redeeming us, we must have the right inner substance or character. We must come to grips with who we really are, inside and out. For we will do what we are. So we will need to become the kind of people who routinely and easily walk in the goodness and power of Jesus our Master. For this, a process of spiritual formation—really, transformation—is required.

Spiritual formation for the Christian is a Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self–our spiritual side—in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself. In the degree to which such a spiritual transformation to inner Christlikeness is successful, the outer life of the individual will become a natural expression or outflow of the character and teachings of Jesus.”

Dallas Willard (1935-2013) in his previously unpublished remarks entitled “Living A Transformed Life Adequate To Our Calling” prepared for The Augustine Group, 2005. In researching Dallas Willard’s writings online yesterday, I fortuitously came upon this article. Today’s’ meditation is an excerpt from his opening comments.

What does our spiritual formation have to do with our generosity?

Dallas would reply: “We will do what we are.” Generosity is a fruit of God’s work in us (cf. Galatians 5:22-23). Without inward transformation, the outward fruit simply will not appear.

Want to grow in generosity this summer?

If Jesus were physically with us, He’d say, “Follow me.” We would become generous as He is generous. In His physical absence, I think He’d say, “Read and obey,” for we learn by hearing and doing. Something happens in us as followers of Christ when we hear and do. His Spirit remakes us. We are transformed from the inside out. From there, the proof is in the pudding, as the saying goes. We become generous as Christ is generous. Or in Willard’s words: “We will do what we are.” Make it so in each of our lives I pray today, Lord Jesus.

Speaking of doing what we are . . . I am going fly fishing today with my son, Sammy, because I “am” a fly fisherman. I pray we have safe travels to and from a beautiful mountain stream, that we catch (and release) many trout, and most of all, that we enjoy sweet fellowship together reflecting what Jesus, our Master, is teaching us these days.

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:15-17

“The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose.

It says in the Bible that the whole universe was made for Christ and that everything is to be gathered together in Him. I do not suppose any of us can understand how this will happen as regards the whole universe. We do not know what (if anything) lives in the parts of it that are millions of miles away from this Earth. Even on this Earth we do not know how it applies to things other than men. After all, that is what you would expect. We have been shown the plan only in so far as it concerns ourselves.”

C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity (New York: Harper One, 2015) 199-200.

So what is “the plan on in so far as it concerns ourselves?” We are here to be “little Christs” who show generously spread God’s love and grace everywhere we go in word and deed. Let’s do that this week, and the next, and the next, until Christ returns or calls us home!