The Generous God

I was thinking today of how generous God is.  There are so many generous people God has brought into my life who have blessed me beyond belief.  Out of all we have been freely given by God we should freely give, and what great blessing we receive when we do so.  During this time of the year every time I say "Christmas" it reminds me how God gave His only Son so all could be saved and receive everlasting life through faith in Him, and how thankful I am.

Giving cheerfully and freely is a practical way of giving thanks to God for all we have received.  All we have is a gift from God (James 1:17).  This life and all the facets of it we enjoy are gracious gifts freely given by a God who created and loves us.  Our food, homes, money, and daily necessities are met masterfully by the God who knows our needs and how to best supply them.  I am continuously in awe of the many people God has continued to prompt and provide money on a monthly basis and gifts for my family according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  How I can testify of God's generosity through fellow followers of Jesus Christ of time, effort, service, and love!  There is bountiful wealth God gives which transcends possessions, money, or any earthly security.

In this season when we remember Jesus Christ, the greatest gift ever provided for men, may we be like those wise men who sought Him and bestowed kingly gifts for His use.  Most of us do not have gold, frankincense, or myrrh on hand, but we can offer Jesus our entire selves - our hands, feet, resources, time, our very breath - to the end others will know His love and generosity through us.  God does not desire a "pay back," for how could we possibly give according to His infinite measure of generosity to us?  He is pleased when we respond through giving to others as He has done for us, "paying it forward" in a sense.  Our primary motive is not to be arbitrary social justice but to give freely to others for the LORD's sake, meeting needs and seeking to bless in Jesus' name.  All benefit from this outworking of God's love.  God has purposefully and intentionally caused amazing, miraculous blessing to rain down upon us in our undeserving state.  In light of this reality as we have received, so let us give ourselves.

It is an appalling contradiction for one who has received love, forgiveness, salvation, and new life from Jesus to be miserly.  Again, I am not speaking primarily about money, though our handling of finances can provide an indication of a heart condition.  We are to be bountiful and free concerning the proclmation and living out of the Gospel.  That is the context of the often quoted words of Jesus when He said, "Freely you have received, freely give."  Matthew 10:7-8 told the twelve as He sent them out, "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' ⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."  As God has placed upon our hearts let us freely give, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7).  Our resources have an end, but God supplies of love, grace, and goods are endless.  God looks favourably upon generosity, and every signpost along that path was well-set by Him.  This is a path without end, and as we walk along this way we can enjoy have sweet fellowship with our loving and generous Saviour.

A Vessel of Honour

"Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." ²⁰ But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. ²¹ Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work."

2 Timothy 2:19-21

It is faith in Jesus Christ which brings forgiveness of sins and cleansing through His shed blood on Calvary.  On their own no one can cleanse their hands or heart from sin.  Yet all who have been born again through the Gospel of Jesus Christ have been washed, justified, sanctified, and have been made righteous.  God knows all people in whom this divine transaction has taken place.  Though this cleansing is initiated by God, Christians are responsible and able to keep their "vessel in sanctification and honour." (1 Thessalonians 4:1-7)  As led by the Spirit according to God's Word, we are to take intentional steps in putting off sinful habits and corrupting influences from our lives.  Then we can be a vessel of honour and useful for the Master.

In the passage above, Paul explained to Timothy that in a great house or palace there were many kinds of vessels.  There were vessels for cooking, water storage, drinking vessels, and buckets to collect waste.  These vessels were made of materials like gold, silver, wood, and clay.  The wealth of the owner and the intended practical use of the vessel likely impacted the chosen material.  One point Paul made is all believers have the potential to be a vessel of honour, prepared for the use of the master.  A large clay vessel to hold drinking water and a golden goblet both have their practical use, but they are only useful when clean.  It would be silly for the clay pot to declare that if it was a golden goblet it would take its role more seriously.  A clay pot with a dead rat befouling the water is not fit for the master's use.  Even as a rat carcass must be removed before the clay pot could be sanitised for future use, so there can be sins, possessions, and pastimes which we must choose to put away from us permanently before we can realise our purpose.

The prophet exhorted God's people returning from captivity in Babylon in Isaiah 52:11-12, "Depart! Depart! Go out from there, touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her, be clean, you who bear the vessels of the LORD. ¹² For you shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight; for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard."  There was a temptation for the Jews to bring idols or unclean things out of Babylon and carry them back to Jerusalem, even as they had brought idols of Egypt into Canaan.  Idols were often crafted of gold and silver and had great monetary value.  But God's people were to value personal holiness over money, and even be willing to suffer financial loss to remain pure before God as those called to bear His vessels.  Because God was going with them they could entrust their finances and future to Him.  If they defiled themselves with unclean things they would not be fit for the Master's use.  Why should we Christians continue to carry with us memoirs of our captivity because we value them?  Don't we value God's presence more than things which marked our old life of bondage?

Christians today do not bear silver bowls or golden candlesticks in the worship of God in a temple, for we are the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells among us!  Our heart has been made the "Holy of Holies" where the Spirit of God has taken up residence.  Since God is with us and inside us, we are to keep our vessels - our physical bodies and minds - clean from sins and free of worldly defilement.  God has cleansed us, and we also need to cleanse ourselves from fornication, lusts, pride, greed, idolatry, and all things which war against our souls (1 Peter 2:11).  Then we can be a vessel of honour.  Vessels of dishonour are put aside until they are willing to be washed and cleaned so they can be used.  It is a sad thing that a perfectly good pot or goblet could sit unused and not fulfill its intended purpose because it refuses to be clean.  Depart from the unclean thing, O Christian!  Put all that is wicked far from you so you can be the vessel of honour God created you to be.

A Full Reward

"Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward."

2 John 1:8

The apostle John wrote the epistle of 2 John to a Christian woman and her children.  Some have suggested it was actually written to a particular church because a specific name was not recorded.  Regardless to whom exactly it was originally penned, as part of the divinely inspired Word of God it is profitable for all Christian believers who have ears to hear.

After exhorting the recipients of the letter to walk in Christ's love by keeping His commands, John issued a warning concerning many deceivers who had gone into the world.  He did not warn them of shady people by name, but he explained in 2 John 1:7:  "For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist."  Many deceivers were in the world when the church was still young, and I imagine the number of deceivers have multiplied exponentially.  Instead of focusing on deceptions, John told them to look to themselves and ensure they were continuing in the love of Christ.

There is something in us which cares deeply about what other people believe and do.  After Peter has been restored by Jesus and had been commissioned to feed Christ's sheep and follow Him, Peter immediately asked about what John was supposed to do.  Jesus said, "What's that to you?  You follow me."  We naturally saddle ourselves with cares and worries about others.  We may worry over the spiritual condition of an alcoholic and the potential destruction of relationships and family, but our anxiety can't fix the problem.  Rather than obsess over the faults of others, wouldn't it be better for us to repent of our worrying which is a destructive sin as well?  I can't make an alcoholic see his need to stop drinking, but I can choose to repent and obey God myself through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

John's statement instructs us we need to examine ourselves, obey the commands of Christ, and refuse to give ground to deception in our lives.  It is possible, based on this scripture, for people to not obtain a full eternal reward.  Our salvation is secure based upon the atoning sacrifice of Christ on Calvary, but we can deny ourselves a full reward when we are not circumspect and cease examining our lives according to scripture.  God provided a great inheritance of land in Canaan for the tribes of Israel, but not every tribe cared to drive out the enemies and secure their borders.  They were cramped but comfortable enough, and their negligence allowed squatters to mar their inheritance.

God has an inheritance for every Christian in this life, and He has promised eternal rewards He delights to generously bestow upon all His faithful servants.  Let us not lose the things we have worked for and lose ground because we have been deceived what we do or say doesn't really matter.  Let us look to ourselves and live in the way which pleases God so we may receive a full reward.  If God has a reward for me, by His grace I want to receive it in full.  How about you?

Authentic Christianity

Today I was reminded of a humorous situation years ago.  I met with a lovely family in Australia who was very keen to try some "authentic" American chili.  And when I say "chili" I do not mean capsicum or a type of chili like habanero, but the American dish which is made with chili powder, beef, and beans.  They had never eaten chili before and wanted to see what it tasted like.  I am a bit of a chili enthusiast so I was only too happy to oblige.

After I supplied a recipe, we hit upon a few snags.  Some of the ingredients were not on hand and there was no time to go to the shops.  Beans were omitted because it was not a favourite, and the amount of chili powder was reduced because they weren't "into" spice.  When we tucked into the finished product, I was asked how the dish measured up.  My response was something to the effect of, "It's very delicious, but it's just not chili!"  The chef seemed disappointed, but it should not have been a surprise.  It is pretty much impossible to make "chili" without chili.  Because ingredients people weren't fond of were removed, the dish bore no resemblance whatsoever to the real thing.  It might have been better to make another dish everyone liked rather than alter the dish while hoping for authenticity.

This approach to making chili could be compared to authentic Christianity.  If we want our Christianity to be authentic, then we need to do things God's way according to His recipe - carefully following the conditions Jesus set forth in His Word for His disciples.  We cannot pick and choose according to our tastes, desiring forgiveness from God but at the same time refusing to forgive others.  We cannot substitute sacrifice for obedience when it suits us.  If Jesus has called us to follow Him and we respond with, "LORD, let me first..." we are left with a poor imitation of the real thing:  something we have fashioned according to our preferences which is without Gospel flavour, powerless, and devoid of life.

Luke 9:23-24 plainly states the requirements to answer the call of Christ:  "Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it."  Authentic Christianity is one of self-sacrifice and obedience to God.  We must deny ourselves and daily choose to take up our cross in following Jesus who was obedient to the will and commands of the Father.  Everyone wants blessings from God, but are we willing to do what is required to receive and appropriate them?  People are fine with God to change their circumstances for the better, but it doesn't mean they actually want a relationship with Him.  Many people were healed and fed by Jesus who didn't care to follow Him daily.  Being healed, delivered from demons, or being touched by Jesus never made a single person a Christian, for being born again is an inner work of grace through faith in Jesus and the surrender of a life to His complete control.

Many in this world are sour on Christ because of their interactions with professing Christians devoid of love or grace who left a bad impression.  It would have been a terrible shame for my Aussie mates around the table to have been told they were eating authentic chili because it potentially could have put them off the real thing.  If real chili had been offered in the future they might have said,  "Oh, I've already tried that and it was awful.  I know I don't like it."  It's true everyone does like not chili, and everyone does not care for Jesus.  But if we will be Christians, then we need to live authentic Christians lives without apology:  loving and forgiving fully, generously giving, sacrificially helping others, exhibiting gentleness and meekness, and speaking the truth so people will repent and discover new life in Jesus through faith.  The only Christianity which transforms lives and saves souls is the authentic kind according to the Bible and the example of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.