Henry Ward Beecher: Give the greatest gift of all

“Have you ever stopped to think that Christ never gave anyone money [in the Gospels]? The riches of the world were his for the taking and his to give away, yet when the poor and hungry came to him, he didn’t give them money, and he rarely gave them food; he gave them love and service and the greatest gift of all–himself.”

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American Congregationalist clergyman in The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations, ed. Martin H. Mansur (Louisville: WJKP, 2001) 122.

As we draw near to Passion Week, the cross, and the resurrection, let us reflect on the implications of this for our lives. Even as Christ gave love, service, and His life for us, what does that mean for each of us? Will we follow suit?

The proclamation of Paul in Galatians 2:20 ring in my ears: “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.” Let this be our collective response.

“God does not need our money. But you and I need the experience of giving it.”

James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family as cited in 1001 Unforgettable Quotes about God, Faith, and the Bible by Ron Rhodes (Eugene: Harvest House, 2011) 98.

Many leaders have recounted that “God does not need our money.” I like how Dobson reminds us why Jesus would exhort us to give. It’s for our good.

So what do we gain through the experience of giving? What do we lose when we don’t? Think on these things as you consider your own giving.

“It’s easy to want things from the Lord and yet not want the Lord Himself; as though the gift could ever be preferred to the Giver.”

Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo, in The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations, ed. Martin H. Mansur (Louisville: WJKP, 2001) 122.

Lately I have been praying for my used car to sell on Craigslist and my home to move on the real estate market. No movement on both fronts. I have come to realize that my focus has been off. That’s part of what I love about Augustine, his sermons and quotes help me think straight.

Father, I want You today. Or in the words of Matthew in his Gospel, I seek you first (6:33). Should you shower me with other gifts, well, I will endeavor to enjoy and share them as your Word instructs, but I choose to be content with You alone.

“Flatter not thyself in thy faith to God if thou wantest charity for thy neighbor; and think not thou hast charity for thy neighbor if thou wantest faith to God. Where they are not both together, they are both wanting: they are both dead if once divided.”

Francis Quarles (1592-1744) as recounted in The Christian Register on 26 November 1908, vol. 13: 1285. Quarles was an English poet known for his famous work, Emblems.

In modern terms, Quarles is saying Christ-followers must also be neighbor-lovers. The two ideas cannot be separated. My prayer this season of Lent is both that we grow in faith toward God and that we serve as conduits of God’s material and spiritual blessings to those around us, which includes the destitute and the undeserving.

Why? As we approach the cross we realize how destitute and undeserving we were when the generosity of God was extended toward us! Without this faith or understanding of grace, there can be no charity. With it, the potential for generosity and charity becomes limitless because the cross is for everyone!

‘Charity’ now means simply what used to be called ‘alms’–that is, giving to the poor. Originally it had a much wider meaning. (You can see how it got the modern sense. If a man has ‘charity’, giving to the poor is one of the most obvious things he does, and so people came to talk as if that were the whole of charity. In the same way, ‘rhyme’ is the most obvious thing about poetry, and so people come to mean by ‘poetry’ simply rhyme and nothing more.) Charity means ‘Love, in the Christian sense’. But love, in the Christian sense, does not mean an emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will; that state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have about other people.

C.S. Lewis in Studies in Words (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1960).

Lewis always has good things to say.

When I researched to see what he thought of alms, he again impressed, or rather, blessed me, and I pray his thoughts touch you. Charity is not merely giving to the poor, it is expressing love, and it is something we have to learn.

I pray this Lent has been a training ground for each of us to grow in charity, or rather, love.

In a recent interview between Pope Francis and a group of young people, listen to how it concluded:

“When his guests said they were ready to ask the last question, the pope laughed, “Ah, the last! The last is always terrible.” They asked the pope to pose a question for them.

He said his question came from the Gospel, when Jesus says to not store up treasure on earth, but in heaven, “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” The pope asked them: What do you treasure and hold close to your hearts?

Is it “power, money, pride or goodness, beauty, the desire to do good?” “It can be many things,” he said, and he asked them to find the answer for yourselves, alone, at home.”

Pope Francis in “Be Honest, discover what you hold dear to your heart” as reported by Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service, 4 April 2014.

When the pope had the opportunity to ask a group of young people anything, I love two things about his response. First, it came from the heart of the gospel. Second, he urged them to think honestly about what they were treasuring in their hearts.

So whether you are reading this meditation on your iPhone en route to work, in the privacy of your home, or elsewhere, take a moment to be honest and ask yourself: What do you treasure and hold close to your hearts?

Why do this? Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. And Jesus cares about where your heart is.

“I find gratitude to be the best antidote to swelling anger. In the past I’ve tried naming the things I’m supposed to: family, friends, health. I am thankful for all those things, but sometimes the rote list seems ineffective. It is tempting to believe I somehow deserve all those things. (I’m healthy because I eat right and exercise. I have friends because I’m a good friend in return. And so on.)…

I have learned I cannot offer genuine mercy and grace to others if I haven’t gratefully accepted it from God first. So when I feel anger rising or note its ongoing presence, I make a simple plea: Mercy and grace to me. Mercy and grace from me. A burden is always lifted.”

Sarah Kehrberg, author and frequent contributor to Mennonite World Review, from a column titled “Antidote to Anger” posted on 3 March 2014 and brought to my attention by Rebekah Burch Basinger.

This is going to be my new centering prayer when I feel like wringing someone’s neck for wronging me: “Mercy and grace to me. Mercy and grace from me.” How true is this! Only after we realize all God has extended to us, none of which we deserve, can we become generous conduits of mercy and grace. I have a lot to learn in this area. “Mercy and grace to me. Mercy and grace from me.”

“You remember among the Franks, whole armies were sometimes given baptism at one stroke, and many warriors went into the water with their right hands held high so that they did not get wet. Then they could say, “This hand has never been baptized,” and they could swing their battle axes just as freely as ever. The modern counterpart of that partial baptism is seen in many people who have been baptized, all except their pocket-books. They held these high out of the water.”

Halford Luccock as recounted by Randy Frazee in The Connecting Church 2.0: Beyond Small Groups to Authentic Community (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013) 134.

Has your pocket-book been baptized? Has it been cleansed of old man, pre-Christian thinking? Have you instead embraced the red letters of Jesus?

Jenni and I began really wrestling with this back in 2009 and it continues to emerge in conversations. It took us a good six months to muster the courage to re-align our thinking and practice linked to money with that which is Christian rather than what is accepted in this culture or even in the church today.

Why talk about this now? Someday each of us will give an account to God.

“The spirit of Mammon utters blasphemies such as “The Almighty Dollar” or “financial independence” or “I am self-sufficient” or “I am a self-made person.” In what way do statements like these [from our lips] reflect that our minds have not yet been renewed?

Mammon promises us those things that only God can give: security, significance, identity, independence, power, and freedom. Until we expose these as lies, what level of impact will changing our financial practices really make?”

Gerhard T. deBock in Simple Books: A Study Guide through the Principles and Practices of being a Steward of God’s Money entrusted to our Care (2010) 10.

Gerhard is a pastor. With passion, he exposes the lies that prevail in our culture as a basis for helping people reform their practices. Why go this route? Our actions always flow from our beliefs. If we shine light on the false narratives that prevail in our lives, that is the critical first step to change. Listen to yourself. Are you seeking anything from money that only God can provide?

“The single greatest contributor to our inability to see money and possessions in their true light is our persistent failure to see our present lives through the lens of eternity.”

Randy Alcorn in Money, Possessions and Eternity revised and updated (Tyndale: Wheaton, 2003) 108.

I wear reading glasses. I keep them on a lanyard around my neck so they are always with me. They also catch a lot of dust and get dirty as a result, so I often get to clean them. There is nothing better than looking through clear lenses when it is time to read. Imagine having lenses that could help us see everything, including money and possessions, in light of eternity. How would such glasses change how we live? What would change for you?

Paul’s words to the Christians in Rome recorded in Romans 12:1-2 ring in my mind on this point. When we choose not to be conformed to the world but transformed by renewing our minds with truth, we are able to literally “scrutinize” or in plain terms “see” or “discern” what is the good and acceptable will of God. Want to see things clearly in light of eternity? Look through the lens of Scripture rather than culture!