Giving

 

Giving to God and others changes us when we give from the heart. Luke tells us to “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38). Indeed, you cannot out-give God. Some people are afraid to give away some of what they have been blessed with, but they will never experience the joy of being blessed by God in unusual ways. The larger the measure we use to give away is the same way it comes back to us.

Luke describes for us an interesting scene from Jesus’ perspective. Jesus was watching as the rich and influential deposited their money into the brass chests at the temple. Some of the offerings were undoubtedly impressive. It was not uncommon for more than one person to be carrying the gifts because they were so heavy. You could hear the loud noise as the heavy coins hit the bottom of the brass chests. It may have been impressionable for those watching, but it wasn’t for Jesus because he saw their hearts. Luke says that “As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury, but he also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.” Jesus’ conclusion about the widow’s offering is surprising. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:1-4). She gave it to God out of love.

Giving is part of our sincere worship. I remember when we started the Argentine Missions Department in the 1980s. We began taking offerings from some very poor congregations to send as missions offerings. I explained to the people that it was a biblical principle, not a question of amount. I remember one woman, Juanita, who wanted to give but didn’t have anything to offer. Then God spoke to her to not buy a bell pepper that she liked to put in a dish she was going to make. She obeyed, and God used her offering the same way he did the widows’ two mites. 

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Reaching Out to Others

 

Reaching Out to Others

 

Selfishness isn’t something we have to be taught; it is born inside of us. On the contrary, we have to be guided by our parents and teachers on being unselfish. Even our concept of love is very egotistic. We love people who love us. We are nice to people who are nice to us, but to be nice to someone rude is hard. Here are three things that God wants from us: “God wants us to love people the way he does.” “God wants us to see people the way he does.” Lastly, “God wants us to have a heart that ministers to people.”

God wants us to love people the way he does. God loves the whole world. His love does not depend on our goodness. Dennis the menace and his partner in crime received cookies from Mrs. Wilson. His accomplice said, “Wow, we must have been good to get these cookies today.” Dennis replied, “Mrs. Wilson doesn’t give us cookies because we are good but because she is good.” That is precisely the way the love of God works. We have to learn to love people who don’t deserve our love but need to be loved.

God wants us to see people the way he sees them. Not the way they are but the way they can be, not with their hang-ups and fears but with firm faith and trust in God. God sees past their faults and envisions where they can be.

God wants us to have a heart that ministers to people. We live in a broken world filled with broken people. They are everywhere, in our family, among our neighbors, acquaintances, and even strangers. If we observe how Jesus ministered to the broken-hearted, we can learn. The story of Jesus and the woman at the well in John chapter four gives us insight into ministering to the broken-hearted.

I believe that God wants us to break out of our comfort zones and begin to minister to hurting people. Some of us are too comfortable and don’t want to be burdened by someone else’s problems. Others are very closed off and unwilling even to initiate a conversation with someone you don’t know.

I am convinced that God arranges the people he wants us to meet. As we go about our day, the Holy Spirit sets up divine appointments. Such was the case when Jesus ministered to the woman at the well.

One of the most gratifying things in life is to be used by God to minister to people. It is a sobering thought to realize that we meet people who have eternal souls and are so precious to God that he has arranged for us to get to know them. The Holy Spirit will arrange the circumstances with people who have broken hearts if we desire it. Never have there been more broken people in the world than there are today.