Day 245: Love's Simple Secret: "Lord, Teach Me To Be Generous!"
Read: Psalm 41:1 - 3
The Psalmist writes to us today 'How blessed is he who considers the
helpless; The Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble.' Or I guess we
could consider this in a more contemporary manner by saying "blessed is
he who sits someplace, sometimes plants a thought or two in their head about a family member, a friend, an acquaintance from work or from church, or those in the back of ambulances as they rush by with sirens wailing and goes about their business." They sense that something is
not quite right but that is as far as it goes - after all "blessed is
he/she who considers the helpless for the Lord will surely remember to
deliver and to bless their token random thought.
Yes, I suppose that would certainly be one way to interpret the passage. It would be certainly the safest interpretation. Yes, if you only read the one verse I mentioned and went no further it might just plant that single seed of "I did my Christian duty today. I am blessed by God because I considered (however briefly) a circumstance
of another human being. That because I was so completely generous with
that brief thought, I'll be delivered by the Lord on my own day of
trouble." "I gave my five dollars here and my ten dollars there" "The
Lord will surely bless me and surely deliver me on my day of trouble."
Because I was so generous in the small things, I will be blessed 100
fold!
I apologize if this sounds like I am trying to inflict
guilt trips all over the place. I am not really. I just find myself in a
place where God has planted a seed of conviction in my heart and what I
have responded with is a poorly conceived effort at sarcastically
rationalizing my conduct before God's Judgment seat. Maybe you have been
here too? To be generous is to reflect the heart of God himself.
Not a token generosity, but a personal stance that is central to who we
are as alleged followers and disciples of our Savior Jesus Christ who can teach us more about generosity than anyone. The Cross is a not so very subtle reminder of our greater responsibility to be far more than token.
The Lord promises extravagant generosity, extravagant grace,
extravagant love. God promises to deliver those who consider the needs
of others. Our God is so very kind. He is always rewarding
faithfulness. God delights in a joyful giver, and I pray for me and I
pray for you, that we will always be more than 'token' people. I pray to
be more than just a 'token' Christian because I love what God did
for me and I love what God will do for you. Will you please join me in
prayer? Join me in finding more than 'token' delight in giving and
serving? God blesses us so abundantly. But have you considered true
success as a Christian is not in being blessed, but what we do with our
blessing?
Let Us Pray the Prayer of St. Ignatius Loyola:
Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous;
teach me to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to seek reward,
except that of knowing that I do your will.
Amen.
http://www.youtube.com/
Read: Psalm 41:1 - 3
The Psalmist writes to us today 'How blessed is he who considers the helpless; The Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble.' Or I guess we could consider this in a more contemporary manner by saying "blessed is he who sits someplace, sometimes plants a thought or two in their head about a family member, a friend, an acquaintance from work or from church, or those in the back of ambulances as they rush by with sirens wailing and goes about their business." They sense that something is not quite right but that is as far as it goes - after all "blessed is he/she who considers the helpless for the Lord will surely remember to deliver and to bless their token random thought.
Yes, I suppose that would certainly be one way to interpret the passage. It would be certainly the safest interpretation. Yes, if you only read the one verse I mentioned and went no further it might just plant that single seed of "I did my Christian duty today. I am blessed by God because I considered (however briefly) a circumstance of another human being. That because I was so completely generous with that brief thought, I'll be delivered by the Lord on my own day of trouble." "I gave my five dollars here and my ten dollars there" "The Lord will surely bless me and surely deliver me on my day of trouble." Because I was so generous in the small things, I will be blessed 100 fold!
I apologize if this sounds like I am trying to inflict guilt trips all over the place. I am not really. I just find myself in a place where God has planted a seed of conviction in my heart and what I have responded with is a poorly conceived effort at sarcastically rationalizing my conduct before God's Judgment seat. Maybe you have been here too? To be generous is to reflect the heart of God himself. Not a token generosity, but a personal stance that is central to who we are as alleged followers and disciples of our Savior Jesus Christ who can teach us more about generosity than anyone. The Cross is a not so very subtle reminder of our greater responsibility to be far more than token.
The Lord promises extravagant generosity, extravagant grace, extravagant love. God promises to deliver those who consider the needs of others. Our God is so very kind. He is always rewarding faithfulness. God delights in a joyful giver, and I pray for me and I pray for you, that we will always be more than 'token' people. I pray to be more than just a 'token' Christian because I love what God did for me and I love what God will do for you. Will you please join me in prayer? Join me in finding more than 'token' delight in giving and serving? God blesses us so abundantly. But have you considered true success as a Christian is not in being blessed, but what we do with our blessing?
Let Us Pray the Prayer of St. Ignatius Loyola:
Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous;
teach me to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to seek reward,
except that of knowing that I do your will.
Amen.
http://www.youtube.com/
Christy Nockles ~ Grace Flows Down
www.youtube.com
You
would get more views I think if you corrected the spelling of Christy's
name in the title - it should be 'Nockels' and not 'Knockles.' I have
followed
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