I was back on the east coast a couple of weeks ago in DC, got to spend some very needed time with my family and some friends. It was chill, fun and just a good time of refreshment. It is always a treat to get to see my little nieces and hope they still remember their ever absent crazy uncle.
Gosh, they grow so fast. as lovable as they are, they have a little bit of spunk and trouble in them, with a crazy need for attention – THEY ALWAYS WANT TO PLAY, BE CARRIED UPSIDE DOWN BEHIND MY BACK, OR CRY – Jeez!! they act like kids. Anyway, its making me re-think my want for a dozen of these munchkins of my own.
Well, I think I can probably still handle a dozen, I figure I can do the playing with and carrying upside down behind back all day – really sacrifice myself there… and their mother can handle the little bit of crying and screaming at the end of the day. Yep, sounds good, problem solved. 🙂
Anyway, back to my point of this blog, I got to church visit while in DC on Easter, and a guest speaker spoke on a topic that culminated to the encouragement that “Your Future is Bright”.
It was an encouraging word and I was reminded and ushered through scripture, where God tells me time and time again how much He loves and desires more for me than I can even imagine to desire for myself.
BECAUSE…
Because I am His. Because I know Him, He has given me us long life. One full of hope and joy and we get to live in the abundance of His love and grace. This speaker encouraged giving with an understanding that you cannot out-give God …and really, it is one thing to give out of your excess, it is a whole other thing to give out of your LACK isn’t it?
You see, when you give in such a way that it makes you think twice…or when you drop bills in the offering bucket, where you feel you could almost just slug the usher in the face and pull your bills out 🙂 …or when you sacrifice or give something up, where its as though your heart almost drops in your chest…in that moment, I believe it an act of surrender.
In that moment, there is a release and surrender to God, to the one with SCOPE and PERSPECTIVE. You give Him an opportunity to show up in your life, or better yet, you give yourself an opportunity to experience God. And oohhhh! what an experience, and He loves that faith.
You basically proclaim with your action; God I trust You. And YES, God loves that! A thought I read from John Piper a while ago – I might have some of my own words mixed in there, forgive me, but it says…
You see, He almost can’t help Himself but bless you, when you TRUST Him.
You see, because you know your future is bright and He is taking you to greater places, you are able to “man-up” and sow kingdom seeds into this world, and into your life, not just out of your extra, but by faith, in obedience, understanding the law of sowing and reaping and above all, His heart.
But a very important part of all this that was not mentioned at the church service is an overall understanding that “YOUR FUTURE IS BRIGHT” not because you give or because you will get back, or will be rewarded/blessed with money gifts or get to move into a higher calling or situation. Your Future is Bright because of JESUS and the cross, the life saving work that took place when he rose from the grave.
In all my ramble, this is what I would regard as my punch-line, the take home.
It is because of Jesus my future is bright, nothing more. It is not in any expectation of wealth or promotion, advancement or increase as a result of any act of mine. When I give sacrificially in obedience as He has already instructed, I only further align myself with His bright future He has adopted me into.
And so, because I know Him, and He is my Father, MY FUTURE IS BRIGHT. YOURS TOO!
