Rich and Generous

Alexander the Great is regarded as one of the most powerful rulers in history.

Legend holds that one of Alexander’s beloved generals had a daughter engaged to be married. Because Alexander so valued his general, he offered to pay for the entire wedding.

When the general sent Alexander the total, it was astronomical. He had booked the most expensive venue available and withheld no expense. The messenger delivering the bill feared that Alexander would be so angry at the extravagance that he would take his life for even bringing him such news.

When Alexander received the bill, however, he laughed and said, “Pay it!”

The messenger, surprised and greatly relieved, inquired as to the unexpected response.

“Don’t you see,” said Alexander, “by asking me for such an enormous sum he does me great honor. He shows that he believes I am both rich and generous.”

I think that’s how God feels when we come to Him.

He doesn’t care how big the “tab” is.

When we come to Him audaciously in prayer we do Him great honor, for we show that we believe He is both rich in love and generous in lavishing it upon us.

He delights in demonstrating His extravagant love.

He doesn’t always say yes to our requests. But when He withholds it’s for our best.

I wonder, though, how often He withholds simply because we didn’t ask – simply because we didn’t believe Him to be rich and generous in love.

He is, you know.

So ask Him.

He may say no – and if He does you can be confident it’s for your good.

But He might just say yes.

Deserts and Dependence

Abraham sat in the shade of his tent and waited out the hottest part of the day. Looking out into the distance, he saw three men approaching.

Abraham leapt to his feet and ran out to meet them. He invited them into his home and then went to find his wife Sarah.

“Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.” Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it. (Genesis 18:6-7, NLT)

Sarah prepared bread from sixty pounds worth of flour. Their servant roasted an entire calf. Abraham garnished the meal with yogurt and milk.

This was an extravagantly generous meal for three men.

I never understood why Abraham would have gone to such great lengths for these strangers until I lived this story.

We were hiking through the southern Israeli desert when we came to a Bedouin camp. (The Bedouin are nomadic Arabs that live mostly in desert regions.)

Our guide knew this particular Bedouin family quite well and, when they saw us approaching, they sent a young boy out on a donkey to escort us into the camp.

A beautiful woman named Hadijah welcomed us into her home and immediately put her daughters to work baking bread and preparing the sweetest (and hottest) tea I’ve ever tasted.

We gathered in their open-aired common room and rested our tired legs. The shade of the tent was a welcome respite from the scorching desert sun.

Why would Hadijah shelter and feed sixty smelly, sweaty strangers?

Because she knew what Abraham knew.

The desert is a place of dependence.

It is a place where we depend on others and they depend on us.

It is a place where we can give and receive hospitality and generosity.

It is a place to bless others and to be blessed by others.

When we’re in our own deserts it is so easy to be concerned only about our own needs.

But, just for a moment, let’s change our focus.

Instead of asking how we are going to survive our deserts, let’s look out into the distance and see how we can help others survive theirs.

Nothing But Everything

Jesus has been dealing all week with those jockeying for social status, political power, and financial gain. He can hardly step foot in the Temple without being confronted by people that want Him dead.

Now, in a rare moment of peace, He sits back and observes.

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. (Mark 12:41-42, NLT)

The smallest coin in Jesus’ day was the lepta. This is akin to a woman dropping two pennies in the offering basket at church.

Hardly anyone else would have noticed, but Jesus is astounded. He called His disciples over to show them what she had done.

“I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” (Mark 12:43-44, NLT)

The translation here is a bit unfortunate. The Greek more literally reads “her whole life,” rather than “everything she had to live on.”

New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine writes, “Jesus’ focus is not simply on her economic state; it is on her life. This is no small matter. It’s everything she has.”

That is really important.

See, we often talk about money very differently than Jesus did.

There are those who claim God wants you to be healthy, wealthy, and happy and if you aren’t, well, then you just don’t have enough faith. But Jesus makes no such promise.

There are others who believe the wealthy to be the worst of all sinners and that poverty is inherently next to godliness. But Jesus levels no such charge.

Yes, you can be wealthy and greedy. You can also be poor and greedy.

See, it’s not about what’s in your wallet. It’s is about what’s in your heart.

It’s is not about how much you have. It’s is about how much you give.

Jesus holds this woman up as exemplary not because she is poor, but because she is generous.

She holds nothing back. She gives everything she has.

Jesus is days away from the cross.

There He will hold nothing back. There He will give everything He has.

And He asks nothing less from us.

He asks that we give our money generously.

He asks that we give our time generously.

He asks that we give our hearts and our lives generously.

He asks for nothing less than our everything.

Take a couple minutes and read Mark 12:41-44. Imagine watching that scene unfold and reflect on what it means to give ““[your] whole life” as an offering.

Everything

I’ve been in Kenya just shy of a week. I’m spending time at a wonderful place called the Hope Center. The children there have had difficult lives. Most of them have been orphaned. Many were living on the streets. The Hope Center takes them in and provides them with their basic necessities – clothing, shelter, food, and an education.

But, they still have so little, at least by American standards. Each child has a single trunk that holds all of their worldly possessions. They sleep two to a bed under mosquito nets to avoid contracting malaria. They have latrines instead of toilets. They wash their clothes in basins and hang them out to dry since they don’t have washing machines or dryers. They wash their bodies by pouring buckets of water over themselves since they don’t have showers.

We have been spending time getting to know the children better – asking them to tell us about themselves.

I asked one little girl if she could have one wish what it would be.

She thought for a moment.

“Well,” she said, “I already have everything.”

She thought a little more.

“But, I would wish to help people that don’t have everything. I want to help the poor, the needy, and the orphans.”

Cue overwhelming conviction.

She’s right, though. She does have everything – everything she needs.

The Hope Center takes wonderful care of these children. They are clothed, fed, and educated. They are treated with dignity. They are encouraged. They are loved. They are a family.

At the Hope Center, they are teaching the children that everything they have – every opportunity – is a gift from God. They are teaching them that they were created with a plan and for a purpose. They are teaching them that, though they may be orphans, they are the children of a good and gracious Father.

That’s why this sweet girl doesn’t see all she lacks.

She sees all she has been given.

And because she sees all she has been given, she sees all she has to give.

I usually have it backwards. I don’t see all that I have been given. I only see what I lack.

I confuse needs with wants and I don't believe I already have everything. Even though I do. Even though I have more than all of these children combined.

But, they are teaching me the meaning of contentment. They are grateful for what they have. They are generous with what they have. They are kind. They are joyful.

I’ve never used this platform to make an ask, but I’m going to now. There are still so many children that need to be sponsored. Sponsors provide support in two ways.

First, they provide financial support through a monthly donation. All of the money goes directly to the sponsored child – for their clothing, food, and education. Those children not yet sponsored are supported out of a general fund, which means that that fund can’t be used for much needed repairs and resources. So, the financial support is crucially important because it allows the child to receive what they need and allows for the general fund to be used for other expenses – which benefits the children, as well.

Second, sponsors provide emotional support by building a relationship with their child. The children write letters to their sponsors and the sponsors write back. I’ve been able to witness several sponsors meeting their child for the first time this week, and it has been so sweet. They know each other. The children call their sponsors “mom” and “dad” because their sponsor, functionally, steps into that role, albeit from a distance. The sponsors take an interest in their child's life, getting to know them, encouraging them in their studies, advising them on their futures, and loving them as a parent for a child.

So, here is my ask.

Please consider sponsoring one of these precious children. I can vouch for the integrity of this ministry. I can attest to the profound impact a sponsor can have on a child. So, if you’re interested, please contact me or read more about it here.

And, if you want to see my “daughter,” Kate, here is our first picture together. She’s the best

S.E.P.s

I don’t read a lot of science fiction, but I love Douglas Adams. If you haven’t read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, I would highly recommend it. It’s fantastic.

The story begins with a man named Ford Prefect rescuing his friend, Arthur Dent, from a doomed Earth. As it turns out, the Vogons, a rather unpleasant race of aliens, intended to demolish it to make way for an intergalactic bypass. Ford and Arthur are picked up by a spaceship called the Heart of God. They go on to have myriad adventures as they explore the galaxy.

On one such adventure, Ford and Arthur mistakenly go too far back in time and find themselves, once again, on Earth (before it was destroyed) at a cricket match. Arthur is beside himself with joy at being back on his home planet and Ford, who wasn’t actually from the Earth, is behaving quite oddly.

“He was waving his hands in sharp movements across his face, ducking down behind some people, leaping up behind others, then standing still and blinking a lot…

’Something’s on your mind, isn’t it?’ said Arthur.

’I think,’ said Ford… ‘that there’s an S.E.P. over there.’

He pointed. Curiously enough, the direction he pointed in was not the one in which he was looking.”

Arthur inquires as to what, exactly, an S.E.P is.

“’Somebody Else’s Problem,’ said Ford… ‘An S.E.P… is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem… The brain just edits it out; it’s like a blind spot. If you look at it directly you won’t see it unless you know precisely what it is. Your only hope is to catch it by surprise out of the corner of your eye.’”

The S.E.P. turns out to be a spaceship belonging to a man named Slartibartfast, but, if you want to know who he is and why he landed his spaceship at a cricket match, you’ll just have to get the book and read it for yourself.

It is the concept of an S.E.P. that I find so fascinating.

Ford, at least, understood that his brain was editing out the S.E.P.s and, so, knew to look for them. Arthur, on the other hand, had no clue that there might be more to the world than what his brain was processing.

I’m, too often, more like Arthur than I am Ford.

I’m unaware that I’m unaware. I miss so much that is right before me because I’m not looking for it. I miss opportunities to listen, to serve, to give, to love.

Those opportunities are just "somebody else’s problem."

Here’s the problem with S.E.P.s. If we are all editing them out, then “somebody else’s problem” becomes “nobody’s problem.”

It doesn’t take jumping around and waving our arms and blinking a lot to see our S.E.P.s.

It just takes paying attention to what’s right in front of us.

Let’s pay attention.

The Day After Christmas

Christmas is over.

 The gifts have all been opened.

The Christmas cookies have all been eaten.

The Christmas movies have been shelved and the Christmas songs have been silenced.

But, Christmas is about Christ and, tomorrow, Christ will still be Christ.

Let’s not forget that, for the Christian, every day should be Christmas.

Every day should be a celebration that, in Christ, God dwelt among us. Every day should be a celebration that, in Christ, God came to rescue us. Every day should be a celebration that, in Christ, we are free from our sin.

If you don’t know Christ, I pray that you would come to know Him. There is no other name by which we are saved. There is no other means by which we can experience a relationship with God. There is no other truth. There is no other road. Forgiveness is offered to all, but given only to those who will accept it. I pray that you accept it.

If you do know Christ, I pray that the spirit of Christmas would reign in your hearts all year long.

Merry Christmas, friends.