The characteristic of God perfectly reflected by Jesus is the nature of the giving God. This is because in essence God is love. Love is inseparable from giving. When you are in difficulties, where are you going to ask for help? You will go to the person who loves you Why do you go to that person? Because you know that he loves you, whether that person is your mother or father, or whoever he is, he will give you what you need.
Jesus said in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world." In Matthew 5:14 he says, "You too are the light of the world." Do you notice what the light does? The light moves out. He gives himself at all times . Here Jesus chooses a picture of something that always gives away. If the light stops giving, then there is no more light. Light is something that emanates, which moves out from its source. This means that Jesus, as the Light of the world will always give: give himself, or light. And it also means that when we become his disciples, then we will become like him, just as he is like our Father in heaven.We will be the light that emanates from within us. Does the Church now function as We see that the Church is not functioning as a light. What is the reason? Because the Church has become an organization that at all times takes it away, not the Church that at all times gives.
The church should be a congregation that collectively shines as the light of the world. But to be able to shine, you must be able to give, and be willing to always give, so the notion of a true Christian is the one who always gives.
Thus, the sign of a true disciple is giving. If you want to know how the Church can function as the light of the world, it is by giving. That is why the early Church shone as the light of the world in the midst of darkness. Wherever they went they give, either to the poor or to those who need help, or to give consolation. They always give, and they shine as light in the Roman empire. I tell you something: if you are a true Christian, then you must always have something for given. If you are not a Christian, then you have nothing to give. Jesus said in John 7:38-39 that whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says: From within his heart will flow the streams living water. I often tell Christians that if you are a true Christian, then you must have something to give. Life streams will flow through you. But if you do not give anything, it is more likely that you are a black hole that always sucks rather than a star always gives a ray.
Are you unable to encourage others? Can not you even have a smile to give to others? Can not you give encouragement or a smile to others if you do not have money to give? There's always something to be given if You do not have to wait until you have a spring to give. You can even start with a cup of cool water. The problem here is the problem of the attitude of the heart. The person who is willing to give you a cup of water will soon find out that God will give him a bucket of water to share. And if you share a bucket of water from God, you will find that God will give you a pool full of water to share. And if you give that one then you will find that He will give you the fountain for then you will know what it means to be a living water stream. It is wonderful for you to go to the college, the office or to the hospital where you work, wherever it is, and start giving there, giving the light, the warmth, the sweetness, and the fragrance of Christ. Are you not got something to give? What kind of Christians are you? I beg you to remember the biblical teaching that the sign of a true Christian is to give, not to always receive.
Jesus' teachings are very much at odds with the world's way of thinking, do not you? In Luke 12:15, Jesus states this: "Be on guard and beware of all avarice, for though a man abundant his wealth, his life is not dependent on his wealth." Jesus is saying, "Beware of all forms of greed; because a person's life does not depend on his wealth. "What is the meaning of this word 'greed' or 'greed'? This word in the original language means wanting more. There is a desire to get even more. And Jesus said to us, "Beware of the desire to always get more things."
But it has become our natural character to want to get more. We see there are others who have something, and we immediately want to have it too. You see that the person next to you has a good watch, with buttons all around, so full of buttons that it looks like a hedgehorn spine, and when you press one of the buttons, for example, there will be a light on. It's all the things that captivate you, then immediately you say, "I want to have a watch like that." Jesus said, "Beware of the desire to get more." You see others carrying a good camera, stuff the little one, then you say, "Wow! Very good! I want to have it too." Thus, we always want to get more things. Jesus said, "Watch out for this kind of desire." When you see someone boarding a car equipped with sophisticated equipment, you say, "Very good!" Soon your heart wants it. Your eyes start to make you drift, eyelids, carnal desires. The natural human nature is always to have. The natural human nature is like a black hole, sucking and absorbing everything into itself.
How many young men see a beautiful girl who goes by and can say, "Ah beautiful, but nothing to do with me"? They will tend to say, "Ah! If only the girl could be my girlfriend, or maybe even my wife. "We all want to have nice things, fun. When we see a beautiful girl passing by, we can not say, "Blessed be You Lord, You have created something very beautiful! I'm glad to see it, "then we do not want that girl. Can you say, "Lord, may he serve You, may He shine for You"? Greed is a very human thing. We want to have everything ourselves.
Human nature naturally always wants to have more. And Jesus says in Luke 12:15, this life does not depend on the wealth you have. This is contrary to the way the human mind because the whole view of human life is based on the understanding that life depends on how big the wealth you have. Therefore, then you have to work hard so you can have fun things. You can enjoy the color TV, not just a small, but a large, 26 inch. You can have a car that well, maybe even two. In these days, I see there are some homes that have three garages. Two cars alone are not enough, you must have three cars. Then you move from home with one garage to a house that has two, then three garages . And finally, when you have all that, you then have a foundation for the helicopter. Next, you then have a house by the beach or lake, and you have a cruise ship. Who says life does not depend on the wealth we have? And once you have a TV, you want to have two so you can enjoy two events simultaneously, so you do not miss the show. have you so you can show off. You have only one TV? Look at me. I have two! You have a Toyota car? Look at me, I drive a Mercedes! This is our way of thinking.
We find that Jesus' teaching is completely incompatible with the human view: if you give more then you can not buy a Mercedes. You will be driven from the big house to the small house, from the small house to the smaller house again. world view of life.
You must be changed to think: "It is happier to give than to receive."
Thinking like Jesus' way of thinking that, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," it is only possible if you are changed, if your way of thinking has been renewed. The Christian life goes in the opposite direction, when it is related to the way of life of the world. striking is that a true disciple yearns for one thing: in the end, he does not just lose everything, but he also gives his life for God. He continues to give, until his last breath, he continues to give.
As I have said, there are some wonderful disciples in the center of the Church. There are people I know who have given up inheritance, and everything, step by step until they have nothing but life I remembered someone I knew at YWAM, and he had a very big inheritance, but he left his legacy, he left his well-paying job, he ignored his diploma and went evangelizing. God used it extraordinarily.
These people leave everything when others just miss the money. Others are longing for a title, a good income job, but these guys just leave their titles and good jobs. No wonder they're great people in the eyes of the world. People look at them and say, "Wow! This is amazing!" Light emanates from such people and everyone notices them. They are the stars for Jesus, the diamond in the crown that shines the light of God. We thank God for such people. If it were not for these people, the Church would only be a shame all the time!
While I was still living in Batam City, I once knew Christians who were turning away from careers, from their jobs, to going preaching the gospel. They are people who learn to become true disciples. They learn what it means to give and give. The world can not understand people like them, but the world is watching them, and the testimony of these people struck with tremendous power. Such people are the backbones of the Church because they learn about giving and always giving, that the character of a true disciple is to give. And in giving that they become like Christ.
Life depends on how much we give, not what we get.
God helps us not to become black holes but to be a shining star in the middle of this generation, and that we may have Christ's mind within us. In Jesus' life, he does not ask, "What can I get?" But he came to give and to give everything. That is why he became the light of the world. And Jesus wants us to do the same, that we become the light of the world. God helps us to change completely in our way of thinking, that life depends on how much we can give. Thus, we will become the light of this world.
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