Does God Give Your Gum Away?
Today was the last day of a five part series at church entitled How to “Make Soup from Stones”.
God speaks to each one of in a different way. Only He knows just what we need at just the time. Today was a day that God gently spoke to my heart.
I was running late this morning, as usual, even though we set our clocks back an hour because of standard time but we made it there only a few minutes late. There were a lot of people at the second service so we had to sit near the back, which I dislike quite a bit since it makes me feel a little unconnected. But, we were surrounded by friends and that made it alright.
Anyway, this morning was different. I felt distracted because I was sitting in a different place. I was a little cramped and uncomfortable. When I get to felling like this at church, I know God has something in store for me. I was right.
You see, God gives us different abilities and talents that we are to use for God’s Kingdom. To some He gives the gift of gab, to others singing, to others success in business…you get the idea. The point is that we all get something and that something is all we need to start something for God. And it’s when we start that something for God and give out of a sense of generosity that we find true life.
Pastor Dave LaChance gave us three conditions to finding true life:
- You must recognize that all you have does not belong to you, it belongs to God.
Romans 12:1 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. (Msg)
- Invest your life in a way that extends God’s Kingdom.
2 Cor. 4:15 All of these things are for your benefit. And as God’s grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thansgiving and God will receive more and more glory. (NLT)
Each morning we need to ask God for three things:
- A discerning heart
- A generous heart
- opportunities to be generous
- Share the results of your testimony
Prov 11:25 The generous soul will be rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself. (NKJ)
What we have doesn’t belong to us! That phrase kept echoing in my head. It’s not just about money and tithing like most people would think. No, it’s about who we are, what we are and what we do with what we have. Are we hiding our abilities from God? Are we intentionally not reading our Bibles because everytime we do God reminds us that we were made to serve Him? It may not be intentional but it happens to us all at some point in our lives. Because whenever God gives us an ability of any kind, He intends to give it to someone else.
Pastor Dave related the story of a bus trip to a Promise Keepers gathering he once made a few years ago. While talking to a small group of men in the back of the bus he offered a friend next to him a piece of gum. His friend took a piece and then proceeded to give everyone around a piece of Dave’s gum! Dave said that he didn’t mind that everyone took some gum but it was someone else who gave away his gum without his permission.
And that’s the way it is with God and what he has given us. He gives us talents and abilities that we did not earn or deserve and He intends to give those things away so that He may be glorified. We are only stewards of what God has given us. We don’t have anything of our own because it belongs to God!
At the beginning of the service a small pack of gum was handed to us with the instructs not to open it until told to do so. Well, towards the end of the service, Dave told us to hold it up. He said the gum does not belong to us, it belongs to God. We are to be generous this week with what God has given us. When we talk to someone about the Lord, offer encouraging words, show God’s love towards someone, etc., we are to offer that person a piece of gum. If they don’t want it, no big deal. We could chew it then, I suppose. But, the point is that we are stewards of that gum and we are to give it away to someone who needs it. Can you see the metaphor? I sure hope so because this has gotten me excited about sharing what I have with others. (This website is a way I have found to share what God has given me.)
So, this week I am going to give out my gum and make sure it’s empty by next Sunday. Unfortunately, I will not be at church next Sunday because of a business trip but I will share my experiences here.
Stay tuned…
