Living To Give

About heaven, John Newton once said that when we get to heaven there will be three wonders

Who is there?

Who is not there?

The fact that I’m there

There are also many other mysteries about heaven

Have you ever dreamed about it?

Have you ever searched the pages of scripture trying to get an insight into what heaven may or may not be like?

Through St Paul

In that passage that is so frequently read at weddings God informs us there will definitely three thing that last not only on earth

But also in heaven

Listen to that last verse from 1 Corinthians 13

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love

As Christians we are not only saved by God’s love

We are not only called to live the way of love

We are called into a community of love that continues well beyond this life

Now put this into the perspective of how we live our lives

How we use all the resources at our disposal

Each of us has money

Some more than others but we all have some money

Each of us has time

Everyone of us has 1440 minutes a day

And each of has talents, skills and abilities

Think about what your are for a moment

And we know that each of these came from God himself

God gave us everything we have

And will continue giving us all that we will have

Sure we may have to work for it

Work even hard for it

But even the opportunity and ability to work hard is a gift from God

But one thing we need to remember is that we are not owners of the resources

We are simply God’s caretakers

God’s servants

In Genesis 2, verse 15 we are told that humans were put on the earth to care for it

We are simply the caring for the resources he has given us to care for

And sometimes we mix this up

Some years ago a family living in a home in West Palm Beach Florida told a film crew it was ok to use the front lawn as a set for the filming of a action movie. They knew cars would be crashing violently in front of the house and skidding across the lawn. During the filming of the film, the neighbours became very concerned and called the owner of the home. The owner was in New York and rang those living in the house and demanded to know what was happening. It seems the people who were living in the house were only the tenants. They had no right to allow the property to be destroyed as the cameras rolled.

And sometimes we do that too

We make decisions about the resources God has given us to use and care for without first listening to him

So what are we meant to be doing with the resources God has given us?

The best place to find out about this is from scripture

And in scripture we get some fairly clear directions about how all,

Not just part of the resources we have should be used

First we are to use everything God has given us for His glory

One of the heresies that float around in some people’s mind is that they only have to use a portion of what God has given them

This does not mean we dump everything on the offering plate each week

What it does mean is that we are to use what he has given us is to glorify God in our families, work, social lives.

In other words next time you are out with friends ask How can I give God the glory as I socialise with my friends?

Or when you are work, ask what opportunities exist for me to glorify God?

There are even opportunities to give God the glory as you visit a hotel

Second we are to be focussed on using what we have for the reason God has given them to us

Let us hear again the words of 1 Peter 4, verse 10

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms

One primary reason for living is to share God’s grace

To share God’s grace to other Christians so they are nurtured and cared for

And to share God’s grace to those who are not Christians so they know and experience God’s grace

When we help others

Ask yourself, how am I connecting them to the great help God can give them?

Something to think about, how are we living our lives and using our resources differently from our friends and family who are not Christians?

The third aspect that scripture asks us to think about is