| Return to Sender - #4168 |
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Wednesday, January 1, 2003Our sons are really enjoying being uncles. Their sister has been kind enough to give them two boys who call them uncle. And our four-year-old grandson is really enjoying how they play with him. You see, they keep finding quarters in his nose or his ear. Now, wait, before I get lots of letters about this, be assured that this boy has been carefully taught not to put anything in his nose or ear. But he loves it when his uncles pretend that they have found money there. Recently, one of his uncles said he was having a particularly hard time getting that shiny thing out of his nephew's nose. So he turned him upside down and gently shook him. Four quarters fell on the carpet! Bingo! But much to uncle's surprise, the little guy picked up the dollar in change and he put it in his uncle's hand. His uncle is in a ministry with Native American young people. Our son objected and he said, "No, no, no this money is yours now." To which our grandson answered, "No, I want you to have it. Use it to tell more kids about Jesus." I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Return to Sender." Without being told, our little guy understands that some of what he has isn't for him - it's for helping other people hear about Jesus. The secret here is that he's only giving back to the person who gave it to him in the first place. Just like us - when we give to the work of God on earth. We're just giving it back to the one who gave it to us in the first place. 1 Corinthians 4:2, our word for today, clearly spells out this "circle of giving." "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust" - or "who are stewards" in the King James Version - "must prove faithful." What you have is a trust from God - which He expects you to use faithfully, especially when it comes to it being available for the work that His Son gave His life for. Imagine trusting $10,000 of your money to the local bank. A few months later, you go to the bank and ask for your money for a need you have. The banker says, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I spent your money." He has betrayed your trust. But no more than we do when we hold onto money that God is expecting back for the work He wants to do. Sadly, the greatest factor limiting the work of Christ in the world today is lack of funds. Is God withholding money from His work? Probably not. He's entrusted it into the hands of His people. And research shows consistently that the more believers make, the smaller percentage of their income they give to the Lord. Malachi actually calls that "robbing God." (Malachi 3:10) In the prophet Haggai's day, the rebuilding of God's temple was at a standstill. Here's how God described what was happening: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin? ... My house remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house." (Haggai 1:4-9) That could have been written today. There is a world of people God so loves - whose only hope is to know about Jesus. There are servants of Christ poised to lay down the rest of their lives to tell those people about Jesus. All they need is the money to send them and it isn't there. Satan hasn't been able to stop the workers from stepping up, so he tries to stop the bullets from getting to the army. But you and I have the power to stop him ... to participate in the life-saving work Christ spent His life on - if we'll open up our hand, give back what God gave us and tell Him, "Use this to tell more people about Jesus." Share or Bookmark This Page       |
