New Thoughts
Matthew 5:45 shows that God, in His providence, has removed all excuse from us. Look at Jesus' comments in that verse, along with the comments from Acts 14:17. God sends His rain to both good and evil men. His sun does not shine selectively upon the righteous, but blesses all alike. Why? Two reasons are given us here.
First, it is an example to His children. In His actions, He shows that He loves His enemies, and provides for them. He calls us to do the same. We, being formed in His image, cannot pray vengeful prayers, we cannot seek retribution for our persecutors. Rather, we are called to pray for them, to actively seek to do good to them. Why? Because our God and Father is like that. Further, it causes His nature to stand out from human nature, and so glorifies His name.
Secondly, Acts 14:17 explains that by doing these things, God ensures that He is not left without a witness. This is a theme Paul picks up on in Romans 1:18-20. No man can claim the excuse of ignorance, for the evidence has been before them in eminently understandable fashion. I know that at one point in my study of that book, I stated that to preach the Gospel without discipling those who heard the message was as likely to preach condemnation. Having heard the Gospel, they would have no excuse. While I still believe this to be true in practice, God is telling us in these verses that those who heard had no excuse even before they heard. Those that pass from life having never heard the Gospel still have no excuse, for they have been ignoring the evidence they did have.
This should not prevent us from spreading the Gospel, for our Lord and Savior has commissioned us to carry out that very task. It should not prevent us from teaching those who come to Christ, from raising the newborn Christians up into fully prepared adulthood. This, too, we are commanded to do. It is the whole purpose of the pastorate to equip saints to serve. This is discipling. This is mentoring. This is our duty, and we should not dare to set it aside.
The second message of these New Testament passages is so clear that I could hear them speaking to my spirit even as I wrote them down yesterday. Fear not! Don't get all worked up about what's going to happen. God takes care of His creation. Look! He even sends rain and sun on those who aren't following Him. He takes care of grasses and dumb animals. How can you even think that He'd neglect to care for you, who are actively seeking Him out and serving Him? How can that even be a concern?
Over and over in these verses, the same message comes forth: Don't get focused on that stuff. Yes, it's important to you. Yes, it's necessary for you. Yes, you will have to take action to take care of these things. However, they should not, must not, distract you from your higher concerns. Seek out God's concerns first. Don't allow present circumstance to take you off course. Don't back off now from the work of the kingdom. Trust in Him whom you serve to take care of the details of your life as you focus fully on His will being done.
This is a message I need to hear constantly in my present circumstance. With my current job coming to an end, and no definite prospect ahead, it's easy for me to draw back, to get my wagons in a circle and prepare to stand alone. It's my natural reaction to cut out all but the most necessary spending, to cut out all the charitable causes, to take on a 'me and mine first' attitude. But God is speaking clearly here. Don't do that, Jeff. Don't do that. If you trust Me, trust Me. Do the things you used to do for Me. Take advantage of the opportunity to do more, while the opportunity is there. I'll watch over you. I've got the job you need lined up for you. I'll make sure you don't miss it.
Lord, I hear You. I hear You, and I think I'm beginning to obey. There have been a few things in this job search that have seemed to have Your hand on them. I don't know. Perhaps it's just been my desire to see You act on my behalf. I do know that I've allowed this situation to impact my ways more than I probably should. In many ways, I've kept my trust in You. Yet, in areas of finance, I've displayed my distrust. Where, Lord, does wisdom end and fear begin? Where is the boundary of good stewardship in this picture?
I will not cease to keep my vows, to fulfill those pledges I have made in Your sight. I thank You for the time You have opened up for me to support my Pastor and my church in this busy time. Help me, Lord, to both give You my all, and give my family what they deserve from me. Help me, Lord, to keep my priorities aligned with You. I don't want to get so caught up that I fail to fulfill my own duties in providing for my family. Yet, without You there will be no providing, anyway. I don't provide. I can't provide. It's all in Your hands, my God, and I know that You are faithful. Insomuch as it is in me to do so, I will act in ways that declare that You are faithful.
My trust is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. My trust is in the God who owns the cattle on every hillside, who created the hillsides for the cattle to dwell on. My trust is in the God who takes care of every detail of every least element of His creation. He shall care for my needs. He shall provide, as He always has. He shall protect my family from all harm. The righteous have never yet been seen begging for bread, and they aren't going to begin doing so now. My God, my great Provider, my King; He will provide all I need according to His rich glory!
God does not provide for us for no reason. Notice, in 2Corinthians 9:11, that His purpose in blessing us with abundance is so that our abundance can bless others. It's not given to us to collect and store away, but so that we can give out of our plenty to those in need. This provision of His, this blessing beyond our ability to imagine, is given so that those we bless from our supply will give thanks not to us, but to God. Our purpose in life is to glorify God. Our purpose in His provision for us must also be to glorify God. Wealth is not a sin. It is the selfish use of wealth that is sinful. When we will turn our material goods over to His use, it will lead to an abundance of thanksgiving both from those who benefit from our giving, and from those who hear the report of it.
This is a return on the talents He provides. This is putting the things He has entrusted us with to work for Him. We tend to look at that parable as applying to the talents He has given us, whatever they may be. But the talent used in that parable was a coin of great worth. He was essentially saying that we should use whatever His providence has given us to benefit Him who gave it. We can't get all focused in on personal benefit. That would be the equivalent of taking our coin and burying it to keep it safe. No benefit is realized for anybody when we do that.
No, if God has blessed us with abundance, that abundance must be put to use to bless others, so that others will bless God. He doesn't have much use for financial gains we might make from His provisions. He already owns it all, anyway. What we can give Him is never anything more than what He has given us. It's a returning of something borrowed. But when we bless Him for what He has given, when we rejoice in thanksgiving over His provision, we begin to give Him a return on His investment. When we take what He has given, and put it to work blessing others; when we direct their attention back to Him as the One who truly provides; their thanksgiving towards Him is a further return. When their report begins to be "Look what the Lord has done," and others begin to rejoice with them, begin to praise God with them; here is great return for His investment!
Provision is with purpose. Our lives are intended to be purpose filled. This can only be so as we intentionally look to His provision as a means to fulfill His will, as we seek to purposefully follow after Him, to purposefully give Him the glory He so richly deserves. May it be so in my life, both in this time of testing, and in the times that follow.
