restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

Freely Give

 David Alan Black  

I’m not one of those who thinks that God’s work is limited by money issues. If He wants you to travel to some far distant place in His name, He’ll take care of your expenses.

When Becky and I went to Switzerland in 1980 to begin my doctoral studies at the University of Basel, God miraculously provided all we needed – both of us worked hard and saved! You see, it’s just as much a miracle of God that He granted us jobs and the strength to work as if He had plunked down a million dollars on our doorstep.

Every year many hundreds of missionaries travel abroad on their own dime. The ball is in our court. It really comes down to this: What are our financial priorities?

Let’s have a look at this more closely. What I am saying is that there is no reason why we can’t be self-supporting to a very large degree in the service of the Lord. Far from hoarding our funds to spend on passing desires and pleasures, let’s seek to invest our resources in the kingdom of God, which is eternal. Nobody will ever believe we have new life in Christ unless they see a new lifestyle. Our goal should be a Christ-centered life. Let nobody persuade you that you are lord of your time, talents, and money. Jesus is! And as the Holy Spirit helps us, we can work out our allegiances to the Master in the complexities of modern life.

Such, then, is the liberating power of the Gospel. God has freed us from our slavery to ourselves and replaced it with a genuine desire to please Christ and to serve others in His name. The only proper attitude, then, is to ask: “What will please Him? What will bring Him the most glory? What will advance His kingdom?” And one of the clearest yardsticks to know whether we are pleasing to the Lord is our attitude toward our possessions.

Freely we have received. Freely we give. This is the Christian life in a nutshell. After all, that’s what Jesus did, isn’t it?

October 18, 2009

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

Back to daveblackonline