Tag: faith in God

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Generosity in scarcity

sunflowers seeds on hands

We often think about generosity coming from those who have an abundance. This is a humanistic way of looking at the world. The kingdom view is that generosity comes from those who have nothing. Mark records a time when Jesus sat opposite the treasury and was observing people putting money into the offering box. He saw a poor widow put two small copper coins in. He was moved by that and called his disciples over. He said, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43-44).

Paul echoed the sentiment when he was asking for money from the wealthy Corinthians to help the church in Jerusalem. the Macedonian church gave abundantly out of their extreme poverty. Paul said, “For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part” (2 Cor. 8:2). Paul said they gave according to, and even beyond their means and begged Paul and his co-workers to take part in the relief of the saints in Jerusalem.

Paul goes on to say that their request was not expected. So where did it come from? “But they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us” (vs. 5). Paul didn’t guilt the Corinthian church into giving, but instead gave an example of the poor Macedonians giving abundantly out of their extreme poverty. They did it because they first gave themselves to the Lord. They realized that they belong to God and God is the provider of all that we have. This is what generosity in scarcity looks like!

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Faith that rewards

a woman in black long sleeve shirt sitting on wooden pew

We know that faith without works is dead, but it’s also true that works without faith makes it impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” This is a profound statement, and there are loads of examples that demonstrate this point. By faith, Noah built the ark. Noah had no idea what the big picture was, but by faith he knew that God would reward him. And on the list goes.

This means that our faith is necessary (maybe even more so) even when times get very tough. There is no clearer demonstration of this than when Peter walked on water. The disciples had already vowed to follow Jesus wherever he went. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on water during the storm, Jesus said, “Take heart; it is I; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27). Jesus used the same expression (ego eimi), it is I, that God used when he revealed himself to Moses as “I AM” (ego eimi). Peter’s response signals that he understood the connection: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water” (vs. 28).

Jesus simply commanded, “Come.” Peter’s faith empowered him to not only believe, but to step out onto the chaos of the stormy waters with Jesus. Peter know that “whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Peter was, in fact, rewarded for his faith. It probably looked nothing like what Peter expected, but he was rewarded, nonetheless.

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Jesus Always Multiplied

brown and blue house on mountain

Jesus’ first recorded miracle was when he turned water into wine. At a wedding in Cana, Jesus’ mother told him that the wine had run out. Then, ordering some men to fill the six purification water jars (each holding 20-30 gallons) with water, the master of the feast tasted a glass and was impressed with the good quality of the wine. He didn’t know where it came from, but the men who filled the jars knew. Jesus took twelve apostles and multiplied his disciples. Jesus took five loaves and two fish and multiplied it into enough food to feed 5,000.

Over and over again, Jesus multiplied blessings for people. And he did this with virtually nothing. In fact, he told his twelve apostles to “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart” (Luke 9:3-4 ESV).

It’s important to note that Jesus told them to take away, not add, resources that could potentially help them in their ministry. Money is generally considered a necessity when serving other people. Ministry can be extremely difficult without it. Shoes and clothes were generally considered necessary for travel. But Jesus told them to take nothing beyond the clothes on their back. The church was birthed out of a need to depend on both God and the goodwill of other believers.

The COVID pandemic has stripped a lot of churches down to bare bones. We can look at it either one of two ways. We can either say that the church is doomed and can’t go on without the resources it once had or we can trust that God will multiply. Already we are seeing some surprising (and healthy) trends emerging from churches that have had their resources stripped away. God is blessing and there are many good things to come!