Paid Back With Interest

This is a mystical verse.
We are back in Proverbs, continuing our exploration of this book.

The one who is gracious to the poor lends to the LORD, and the LORD will repay him for his good deed. 

Proverbs 19:17 (NET)

How can that be?

God commands us in other places to be kind to those who have less then we do.  Some of those scriptures are:  Deuteronomy 15:7-8, Matthew 10:42, and Luke 6:38, to name a few.

He also tells us that He owns "the cattle on a thousand hills", which is a picturesque way of saying that He owns it all.

“Listen, my people, and I will speak;

I will testify against you, Israel:

I am God, your God.

8I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices

or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.

9I have no need of a bull from your stall

or of goats from your pens,

10for every animal of the forest is mine,

and the cattle on a thousand hills.

11I know every bird in the mountains,

and the insects in the fields are mine.

12If I were hungry I would not tell you,

for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

Psalm 50:7-12 (NIV)

So, ok, He owns it all.  I don't think any of you would dispute that.  Then, what is all this about us "lending" to the Lord when we help those who are struggling and suffering?!

I believe it has to do with "lending a hand".  God is, of course, Spirit.  We are His "hands and feet" when we do His will here on Earth.  Oh, He can certainly utilize angelic beings whenever He wants; and, He does, usually unseen.  However, when we obey Him by ministering to "the poor" (which can be defined as anyone who needs our help), then we are lending Him a hand by being His instruments of blessing.  He works through us in this physical domain to bless others.  In that way we are "lending to the Lord".  We are lending our hearts and wills and bodies.

God promises that we cannot out-give Him.  Isn't that a beautiful promise?  In his book, James (1:17) describes Him as the ultimate Giver.... of "every good and perfect gift".  He will be a debtor to no man.  In fact, when we are generous with what we've been given, I don't believe God just "pays us back".  I firmly believe He pays us back...with interest!

Recently, I've been a little grumbly with God about my finances.  We recently had to purchase a new oven for the house, when I felt our old one should have lasted at least a couple more decades.  We have a flawed heating system in the basement, which we can't currently afford to replace....I have even sinned by questioning God as to where the financial abundance is that I am currently seeking.  Ridiculous!

This sinning of mine is because I've been focusing on only one type of "pay back", you see.  Living in our materialistic society here in the United States, it is easy to develop tunnel vision where "blessing" is concerned.  When I broaden it out to include blessings of all types, I realize how God has given me much, much, much more than I have ever given to others OR to Him.  And, that shift of focus rightly provokes waves of extreme gratitude, washing over my soul.

Here's a recent example of the Lord's largesse.
Later this week, I'll be traveling with a couple of friends very far from home. (My menfolk had no desire to go.)  I've been granted an opportunity to visit a part of the world I've never seen, one I've wanted to experience for a very long time.  The next time I post, it will be from 7 time zones away.  I look forward to sharing my experiences there with you here in the blog.

Are You Standing Still?

Recently I found myself disappointed by someone in whom I had trusted.  Ever been there?  And, conversely, I know that there are many times in my own life walk when I have let another person down.  It is a characteristic of humans that we are in a constant state of change and development. This is true of us all, Christian or non-Christian.  As Christians, we are all either growing closer to God, through Jesus Christ, or we are back-sliding.  There is no standing still.   By contrast, unbelievers are moving farther and farther away from God's salvation, or God's Spirit is drawing them to Himself in order for them to become saved.  Again, there is no standing still.

Why am I talking about this?  Because God is not that way!  God, The Unflickering Flame (James 1:17), never changes.  His holiness, His love, His mercy, His justice...all of His perfect attributes are unwavering.  The writer of Hebrews affirms this in today's scripture passage.

13For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15And thus Abraham,^b having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

Verse 13 refers to the Abrahamic Covenant, as it is often called - - - that promise God made to Abraham to the effect that he would become the father of many nations, that his descendants would be as the grains of sand in the desert.  And, God has kept that promise over these many thousands of years since Abraham's day.  Abraham, through Ishmael, became the progenitor of all Arab peoples; through Isaac, he became the father of the Hebrew people.

Interestingly, the One who had absolutely no need to swear for emphasis, did so.  Finding no one greater than Himself, He swore BY Himself that He would keep His promise.  He did this for mankind's sake, a creation with limited ability to comprehend changelessness.  We spiritual chameleons find His immutability, His changelessness, as difficult to embrace and understand as we do His other awesome characteristics.

By His character and by His oath, by these two things, God is emphasizing that it is impossible for Him to lie, whether about His promise to Abraham OR about the work He accomplished on our behalf through Jesus Christ, the Son.

When we find ourselves disappointed what do we do?  We find refuge in something or in someone, do we not?  Some seek refuge in drugs, others in promiscuous behavior.  Others in foods which trigger the soothing centers of the brain.  

Verse 18 depicts believers who run to and find their refuge in God's changeless promises, in that God who cannot lie, will never disappoint, is "the same, yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).  It is in this section that the author begins to weave into his sermon the theme of Jesus Christ, our High Priest.

When we run to God in our time of need, we do so because of His sure promises that cannot fail. Still, here is an important point.  Even though this turning to, running to God is a type of perseverance, it is clear that the Holy Spirit living within us enables us to persevere in such a manner.  

Why is this an important distinction?  I overheard an elder Christian tell a younger believer the other day that he was going to just have to "suck it up" and "tough it out".  The implication is that the younger person was just going to have to work himself up to get things back on track.  But, clearly, that is not the Christian way.  "Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow"1 are not found within our own sinful natures.  Consequently, trying to achieve that in our own strength is hopeless.

Cockerill2 puts it like this, having just referred to Abraham as a godly example:  

"Provision for that perseverance is made certain, as it was for Abraham, through the faithfulness of God, which has now been fulfilled in the high priesthood of Christ.  Thus awakened, the hearers are ready to grasp that priesthood and its benefits as the ONLY means of perseverance." {emphasis mine}

In Hebrews 11, the author circles back to this theme of faith-based perseverance, as he lists "the roll call of faith".

What is it about Jesus Christ's current ministry as our high priest that makes this promise of refuge and perseverance so very exciting?  We will take a deeper look at that in upcoming posts.

Sources:

1      https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/19

2      Cockerill, Gareth Lee. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2012. Kindle edition, p. 280. 

The Healthiest Emotion

Happy New Year!

I love this post-Christmas season, truly.  It is a quiet time, when the earth continues to sleep, resting and rejuvenating in preparation for spring.  Things look dead, but they aren't.  In a few short weeks, the Earth will once again "spring" to life, giving evidence by the beautiful, bright green shoots of vegetation.  For now, though, quiet and rest.

Do you know what I was doing on New Year's Eve?  Well, first I got my nails done.  Sitting on one side of me was a lovely lady my age, with whom I had a conversation about cooking turnip greens. My MIL taught me how to cook them so that they are not bitter.  I'm grateful for that lesson because turnip greens are, hands down, the Hubster's favorite vegetable.  I hope this stranger tried my recipe; she would not regret it.

On the other side was a beautiful younger woman.  We had a conversation about the New Year's Eve parties she was scheduled to attend.  She told me that the first party she was headed to was at her church and then rhapsodized about how much she loves it.  She spoke of the mission trips she has taken and how much the Lord means to her.  How refreshing to interact with a young sister in the Lord, one who so obviously loves Him!  I'm grateful for her and the encouragement God gave me through our "chance meeting".

Zig Ziglar calls gratitude "the healthiest emotion".1  Bob Jones, Sr., said it like this:  "The loveliest flower that blooms in the garden of the heart is the flower of gratitude; and, when gratitude dies on the altar of a man's heart, he is well-nigh gone"2  ("close to hopeless" would be a more modern rendering).  

As I move into 2017 I am grateful for so many things....but not nearly grateful enough.

So, this year, I want to be more grateful, cultivate more gratitude in my garden, because I believe that gratitude grows a believer's faith in God.  

When you can't control the perilous situation.....

When you are (like my precious sister in Christ) getting your bone marrow transplant today....

When you are in tremendous physical pain.....

When your marriage is over and you surely did not want that....

When your children are far, far from God with no apparent hope of return...

When you have lost your job and are consumed by fear for your financial future....

When you are excruciatingly lonely and know one sees.....

        choose to be grateful for God's grace and that He is with you 100% in the middle of it.

Did you know that the Greek word for grace (charis) and the word for gratitude (eucharistian) have the same root?  That is why the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:15 that, as God through us extends His grace to more and more people, our gratitude should be increased accordingly.  As we allow God to use us in ministry, to further His kingdom, His grace should flood our lives!  His grace is the engine that powers our gratitude.

Gratitude is a genuine heart-attitude toward one who has given us a good, often-undeserved gift. It doesn't come naturally to us humans!  (Every parent has learned that by watching the sin nature unfold in his or her own child!)  Gratitude is an emotion that goes hand-in-hand with grace. The Bible says "every good and perfect gift" comes down to us from the Father of Lights, that is, God (James 1:17).  But, what about those "gifts" we don't perceive as "good"?

"It's all good", when you are God's own child (Ephesians 5:20).  He is the perfect Father, who allows nothing to touch us that is not a part of His plan.  Even when life seems to "stink", even when we suffer for His sake, His love never wavers.  The latter part of James 1:17 emphasizes that God, as the Father of Lights, does not waver as a candle flickers.  His light is constant, as is His love for His own.  His grace never fails, is unending.

We can have not only confidence in this...we can choose and receive gratitude in this, a Holy Spirit-driven gratitude that soothes the troubled heart and nourishes our soul.

Sources:

1    https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/z/zigziglar617744.html

2   https://books.google.com/books?id=tzpypGT0ZHEC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=when+gratitude+died+on+the+altar+of+a+man%27s+heart&source=bl&ots=kkrrgFVRLA&sig=DuwtsBoOpxyChiMaezCzWfCIAxU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhjZi_6abRAhVG7IMKHR5EBPwQ6AEITTAL#v=onepage&q=when%20gratitude%20died%20on%20the%20altar%20of%20a%20man's%20heart&f=false