Joel Bruce: We must trust in our generous God who loves and cares for us

“We often think that, if God is not doing what I want when I want it, then either He is not God or He is not loving. But, He has demonstrated just how important we are to Him by lavishing His gifts on us…If we don’t have something we need today, it’s not because God isn’t capable of meeting our need, or that He is unconcerned about it. He always has a purpose in how He responds to our needs…God’s actions in the past–His generosity to us–prove that He loves us and cares about us.”

Joel Bruce in Our Generous God (Bloomington: WestBow Press 2011) 4.

“God isn’t looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him.” (cf. Mark 10:21)

Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) missionary to China, as recounted by Wayne Vleck in Dakota Martyrs (Bunyan Family Books, 2004) 40.

“The heart of a Christian, who believes and feels, cannot pass by the hardships and deprivations of the poor without helping them.” (cf. 1 John 3:17)

Louis Guanella (1842-1915) as recounted by Jill Haak Adels in The Wisdom of the Saints (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987) 128.

“A detached man should always be looking to see what he can do without.” (Cf. 1 John 2:15-17)

Henry Suso (1295-1365) spiritual director and preacher, as recounted by Jill Haak Adels in The Wisdom of the Saints (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987) 127.

“The Christian…must keep in mind, that the value of his good works, fasting, almsgiving…and prayers, does not depend on their number and nature, but on the love which moves him to perform them for God; and that they are then most perfect when they are wrought in the most pure and sincere love of God, and with the least regard to our own present and future interests, to joy and sweetness, consolation and praise.”

John of the Cross (1542-1591) in The Ascent of Mount Carmel (London: Thomas Baker, 1906) 323.

“The superfluous riches which thou didst hoard and suffer to become rotten when thou shouldst have given them in alms to the poor, the superfluous garments which though didst possess and preferred to see eaten by moths rather than clothing the poor, and the gold and silver which thou didst choose to see lie in idleness rather than spend on food for the poor, all these things, I say, will bear testimony against thee in the Day of Judgement.” (Cf. James 5:1-3).

Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) scholar and lecturer, as recounted by Jill Haak Adels in The Wisdom of the Saints (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987) 124.

“If you truly want to help the soul of your neighbor, you should approach God first with all your heart. Ask him simply to fill you with charity, the greatest of all virtues; with it you can accomplish what you desire.”

Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419) missionary, as recounted by Jill Haak Adels in The Wisdom of the Saints (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987) 124.

“The more you abandon to God the care of all temporal things, the more He will take care to provide for all your wants; but if, on the contrary, you try to supply all your own needs, Providence will allow you to continue to do just that, and then it may very well happen that even necessities will be lacking, God thus reproving you for your want of faith and reliance on Him.”

Jean Baptiste de la Salle (1651-1719) priest and reformer, as recounted by Jill Haak Adels in The Wisdom of the Saints (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987) 57.

Because it is so common;
Because it is found among those who make pretensions to refinement and even religion;
Because it is not so easy to define what is covetousness, as it is to define impurity of life;
Because the public conscience is seared, and the mind blinded to the low and grovelling character of the sin.

Albert Barnes Notes Explanatory and Practical on the Epistles (New York: Harper Brothers, 1845) 317.

“Christians must be part of the counter-culture, resistant to the TV ads and to the skewed priorities of our consumer culture. Giving is the antidote to selfishness, but is also a command for Christians. If we take that command seriously, maybe the world will take us seriously.”

Sir Fred Catherwood in the foreward to Beyond Greed by Brian Rosner (Kingsford, Australia: Matthias Media, 2004) 8.