How willing are you to share what you have? Do you believe it is yours? Do you hold onto it with a tight grip? Are you willing to share what you have with others? Are you willing to give what you have to those who have little or nothing? Will you obey God?
Our culture encourages us to gather more and more. We see advertisements that continuously tells us we need this or that. In all the hustle and bustle we have lost our sense of what is needed versus what we want. In the process, we have lost our ability to follow God’s will.
God blesses us so that we can bless others. God is not about giving us riches so we can set back on our haunches and take it easy. I’m reminded of the encounter Jesus had with the rich young man who asked what he needed to do to have eternal life. Jesus told him to go sell all he had and give it to the poor. The young man went away saddened. (Matthew 19:16-22).
We are often like that rich young man. We do not want to sell off our possessions and give the proceeds to the poor to follow Jesus. Unfortunately, we do not even want to give what we consider our little extra to help those in need. Instead, we put it away in savings or use it to buy gifts for family and friends. When we do give to help those in need, we like to pat ourselves on the back, as though we did some great work rather than simply doing what God wants.
If we will just take a little time to look around, we will discover more people in need than we can count. They are in our churches, on our streets, working minimum wage jobs, collecting disability, or a small pension. There are children in our schools who would not have breakfast or lunch, if the schools did not provide them. There are children who have no bed to sleep in.
The apostle John tells us that we are not showing God’s love if we have more than we need and do not share with those who do not. Showing God’s love is not merely putting a smile on and providing a few words of encouragement. It is much more than that. It is helping those who need help, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.
I pray we all ask God to show us how we can share his blessings. I pray we ask God to move within us. I pray each one of us will determine to show God’s love to those in need. Share your blessings. Help those in need. Show God’s love to others. Ask God to show you how.
1 John 3:17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
Marty Pressey 