“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45
God truly does work in mysterious ways. When
I wrote the previous post yesterday, I simply planned on writing an
encouragement and an exhortation to live a life spent for Jesus, and share in
how He is growing me in this. However, God seemed to have something bigger in
mind. As you read this, please know that I am saying this to myself as much as
to you.
God calls us to be spent. Once we are
saved, brought into the blood of Christ, and taught to watch over our souls, He
teaches us how to turn outward. If we spend our lives focused on me, me, me, we
don’t have Christianity, we have “ME-ianity.”
CHRISTianity is supposed to be focused on Jesus; looking at what He is
looking at, doing what He is doing, thinking what He is thinking, and caring
for what He cares about.
As an outflow of this we turn outward.
Our eyes see those in need that we simply passed over before. Our hearts ache
for the sin in this world and the pain that so many people endure. Our hands
are compelled to help and give. All of this in the power of Christ.
“And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go
with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of
thee turn not away.”
Matthew 5:41-42
We are commanded to be givers, not
takers. And even though we have absolutely nothing in and of ourselves to give
(even our righteousness “is as filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6), in Jesus we have
everything we could possibly need and more. All the strength this world needs
is found in Him alone.
We as Christians are the strong ones in
the world. It may not seem like it, but remember, you are not giving of what
you have, but of what Jesus has. Yes, He calls you to spend yourself. Giving
can be exhausting, difficult, costly, and even scary. But the more you give,
the more you get; so next time you can give more. If you just cling to what strength
you have been given, it will fade and sour. The only way to get more is to give
it away.
Jesus asks us to give in many different
ways. It could be through prayer; giving up your resources of strength, time, and
energy to pray for people you know, events, the weak and poor, etc. Prayer is
the Christian’s ultimate weapon. He may also ask you to give of your money,
your time, your energy, or anything else you may possess; which, really becomes
Christ’s when you become a Christian. This quote by Major Ian Thomas sums it up
beautifully:
“The Christian life can be explained only in terms
of Jesus Christ, and if your life as a Christian can still be explained in
terms of you – your personality, your willpower, your gift, your talent, your
money, your courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacrifice, or your
anything – then although you may have
the Christian life, you are not yet living it!”
Ian Thomas
Everything you have belongs to Jesus.
Allow Him to spend it as He sees fit.
My Heavenly Father has been challenging
me in this lately, more than ever. He is teaching me to disregard what I want and ask Him what He wants. I am
learning to give up energy and time to wrestle in prayer for burdens that HE places on me. I am learning to trust
Him to provide just the right amount of money for what is necessary at exactly the time it is needed. I am learning to give
up even good things for the sake of His glory and to spend more time in His
presence. And let me tell you, it is SO worth it! As Hudson Taylor once said, “I
never made a sacrifice.”
So, I challenge you to give. It can
start with the smallest smidgen. That may be all the strength you have right
now. But it will grow. God will give you what you need, when you need it. You
can pray for someone in need. You can make a meal for a busy or elderly
neighbor. You can do chores around the home that no one else wants to do. You can
write a note of encouragement to a hurting or discouraged friend. You can
sponsor a child in poverty. You can go on a mission trip to physically help
people in need and give the life giving news of Jesus.
Just pray about it. He will tell you
what to do. Let it come from Him. If you try in your strength, you will fail.
But, oh, what joy! We don’t ever need to try in our strength, for His is more
than sufficient!!!
And just like that, there is a very real
crisis for us to respond to. When I got on the internet this morning, I saw the
headlines about a shooting in Colorado. An armed and dangerous man walked into
a theatre where the Dark Knight Rises (new Batman movie) was playing and shot
most of the people in the room. 12 people died, and it is estimated that 38
were injured, many of which are still in critical condition.
So, church of Christ, are we going to
sit here and wring our hands and worry and despair? Or are we going to rise up
in prayer and the strength of Christ? Are we going to have doubts and trust
more in the power of the Enemy than the power of Jesus Christ? Or are we going
to stand firm in our faith, trusting that God works all things together for
good (Romans 8:28), that He is ALWAYS in control, and that His heart breaks
over this as much as ours? Are we going to shake our heads sadly, cry a few
tears, and turn away to the next distraction? Or are we going to go to our
knees in prayer, standing in the gap for those who are weak and hurting without
Christ, pouring out all we have for our brothers and sisters, knowing that God
can (and I believe will) bring a great victory out of this seeming defeat? It is up to you, but I pray that you will
open your heart to God. Listen, trust, and obey what He tells you. Then stand
back, and watch what our God will do!
This exhortation and challenge is very much for my soul as well. I do not pretend to have perfected in any measure the call to give. God is challenging me very much in this, and I pray that He gets all the glory in this. I
welcome any comments and concerns over this post.
For King and kingdom,
Victoria Eira
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