C.S. Lewis: Sixpence none the richer

“Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already. So that when we talk of a man doing anything for God or giving anything to God, I will tell you what that is really like.

It is like a small child going to it’s father and saying, ‘Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present.’ Of course, the father does, and he is pleased with the child’s present. It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction. When a man has made these two discoveries God can really get to work. It is after this that real life begins. The man is awake now.”

C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) in Mere Christianity (New York: HarperCollins, 2001) 192.

“Instead of the tithes which the law commanded, the Lord said to divide everything we have with the poor. And he said to love not only our neighbors but also our enemies, and to be givers and sharers not only with the good but also to be liberal givers toward those who take away our possessions.”

Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202) in Against Heresies 4.13.3.

“You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handing over to him what is his. For what has been given in common for the use of all, you have arrogated to yourself. The world is given to all, and not only to the rich.”

St. Ambrose (330-397), archbishop of Milan, as cited by Thomas Aquinas in Summa Theologiae Vol. 38: Injustice (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) 282.

“Jesus said [cf. Matthew 25:31-46] whatever you do to the least of these, my brothers, you’ve done it to me. And this is what I have come to think. That if I want to identify fully with Jesus Christ, who I claim to be my Savior and Lord, the best way that I can do that is to identify with the poor. This I know will go against the teachings of popular evangelical preachers. But they’re just wrong.”

Rich Mullins (1955-1997), from a concert clip quoted in The Right Church by Charles Gutenson (Nashville: Abingdon, 2012) 155.

“Above all the grace and the gift that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”

St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) as quoted in St. Francis of the Woods Newsletter, Autumn 2011, 1.

“Let us never forget that the truth of “the blessedness of possessing nothing,” and all such truths, cannot be learned by rote as one would learn the facts of physical science. They must be experienced before we can really know them…If we would indeed know God in growing intimacy, we must go this way of renunciation. And if we are set upon the pursuit of God He will sooner or later bring us to this test.”

A.W. Tozer (1897-1963) in The Pursuit of God, (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1982) 20-21.

“Every breath we breathe is a gift from God, every bit of food we eat is given to us from His hand, every day we live is determined by Him. He has not left us to our own devices or the whims of nature or the malevolent acts of other people. No! He constantly sustains, provides for and cares for us every moment of every day. Did your car break down when you could least afford the repairs? Did you miss an important meeting because the plane you were to fly in developed mechanical problems? The God who controls the stars in their courses also controls nuts and bolts and everything on your car and on that plane you were to fly in.”

Jerry Bridges Trusting God (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1988) 28.

Yesterday I learned my 16-year old son had a tire blow out. Thankfully, he managed to get through the experience safely.

The day before, my flight was delayed due to mechanical problems making a day of travel longer than planned.

This week, my wife’s two year check-ups in her recovery from cancer went well too. I just said to a faculty member who asked how she was doing that we have learned that every day is a gift from God.

So imagine my surprise this morning when I have to wake up early after teaching at Trinity in Deerfield, IL, last night, and I read this.

LOL! He constantly sustains, provides for and cares for us every moment of every day.

“It is just as important to trust God as it is to obey Him. When we disobey God we defy His authority and despise His holiness. But when we fail to trust God we doubt His sovereignty and question His goodness. In both cases we cast aspersions upon His majesty and character. God views our distrust of Him as seriously as He views our disobedience.”

Jerry Bridges in Trusting God (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1988) 18.

“The thought of my unworthiness for all His gifts to me and to [His poor] gets deeper and clearer. In my meditations and prayers which are so full of distractions nowadays–there stands one thing very clear–my weakness and His Greatness. I fear all things from my weakness, but I trust blindly His Greatness.”

Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light ed. Brian Kolodiejchuk (New York: Doubleday, 2007) 139.

“Stewardship is about doing what God wants us to do so we can become who he wants us to be.”

Jim Liske, President/CEO of Prison Fellowship Ministries, in Our Great Exchange video series, part 1 of 7.