Bible & Possessions预览

Possessions - Whose are They?

Paul says, "When I was a Christian for just one year, I faced a big challenge. I was 23 years old at the time and had managed to save several thousand euros. I grew in my desire to become a missionary, and I thought that those savings would come in handy to pay for my courses in a missionary school. However, I got a strong urge to give away all my money. Our church had a great financial need, and the Holy Spirit urged me to donate my savings to meet that need. I still vividly remember my inner conflict. It had taken me time and pain to save that money. Wasn't training to become a missionary a legitimate goal to use my savings? Eventually, I realised that it revolved around the question: who owns these savings? Looking at scripture and similar texts, I couldn't help but conclude that everything belongs to God, including my savings.
We are called as good stewards to deal with everything entrusted to us. I didn't want to hide the fact that it hurt to have to put all my savings in the collection, but in the end, I did it anyway. One year later, I started my training. I learned from the beginning to fully trust God for my financial needs because I had given all my savings to the church. This was a lesson I needed to learn to be able to function in the ministry of the gospel. God owns my money and He will provide what I need to do His will. I have never been disappointed in that. God has always provided for my material needs."

"Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth 'thrown in': aim at Earth and you will get neither.” C.S. Lewis

CHALLENGE

Everything we possess belongs to God. Therefore, we manage His possessions. Have you consciously transferred everything you possess to God to use as he sees fit?