Junk Drawer Spirituality

A People of Need: Generosity

This is the final post in the series I've been blogging through on the subject of "need" . . . the idea that getting in touch with my sense of deep need for God and for others is connected to the vitality of my walk with God.  We've talked about evangelism, prayer, and relationships.  And for our final post I want to talk about generosity.

Consider this verse from 2 Corinthians 9:7: "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."  I find a few things interesting about this verse.  First . . . the obvious . . . God's desire is not only that we give, but that we give out of the goodness of our hearts, cheerfully.  But second . . . the not as obvious . . . it's clear that my generosity is somehow connected to my relationships with God.  I'm not sure how often I think about that fact that I should give, not only because others need it, but because "God loves" it when I do.  It seems as I give, I am bridging connections with God and growing closer to him in ways other spiritual disciplines (i.e., prayer, fasting, Scripture reading) simply cannot allow me to do.  Generosity has a unique way of uniting my heart with God's heart.

And all of that makes the first statement all the more important.  God loves a CHEERFUL giver.  I cannot grow closer to God's heart as a person who gives with a scowl.  God loves the kind of giver who gets excited about generosity and feels decidedly empty when he doesn't.  But this is tough.  "Cheerful giving" is a difficult emotion to fabricate out of thin air.  How does a person emote cheerfulness on command while simultaneously draining his or her bank account of the very funds he or she might otherwise use for personal gain?

A People of Need: Relationships

I'm continuing the series I started a few weeks ago about the subject of "need" . . . the idea that being a person who needs is somehow integral to my walk with God.  Today, I'm talking about some of the things I've been thinking about with regard to relationships.

I mentioned in a previous post that I recently took a trip to Dallas to visit my Grandfather.  This is what happened: a few months ago, my Grandfather, while driving, made a sudden turn into the post office parking lot from the far left lane, cutting across a van full of children.  They collided with the van (luckily none of the children were hurt), and both of my Grandparents were left black and blue and with a few fractures.

In the weeks to come, both of my Grandparents ended up in a rehabilitation clinic.  My Grandfather took a hard fall one morning and had to be taken to a separate hospital, and in the subsequent days, he hit a rapid decline due to some mini-strokes and his cracked pelvis.  His ailing body was taking a toll on his spirits, but do you know what was hardest for him?  Having to be apart from my Grandmother.

A People of Need: Prayer

I don't know about you but prayer does not come easily to me.  It's a weird thing to admit because I'm a pastor, which is like a professional Christian . . . and professional Christians are supposed to be really good at things like praying, and reading their Bibles, and fasting, and other very spiritual things.  Confession: prayer is difficult for me.  And when I say "prayer is difficult," I'm talking about the specific type of praying where I'm supposed to ask God to help me with some sort of personal need.

So I've been writing in this blog series on "need," and the fact that being a person of need is, I think, somehow integral to the Christian experience.  So I wanted to talk about some of the things I'm learning with respect to praying from a place of "need."

A People of Need: Evangelism

 I'm beginning a new blog series today (it's been a while since I've done that), about a topic I've been thinking quite a bit about recently.  That topic is "need."  Specifically, I've been thinking about the way my "needs" relate to my relationship with God and the people around me, and how the very fact that I'm broken and in many ways will remain broken is a key aspect of my spirituality.  In short, I 'need' to be in 'need.'  I'm going to begin by talking about evangelism, because this is where my own journey on this topic began a few weeks ago.

It started when I was reading the story of Jesus sending the 12 disciples in Luke 9.  Jesus instructed them to not take any money, extra clothes, food, or even a bag with them as they walked from town to town sharing the gospel.  I think I always assumed the reason Jesus made that command was to give his disciples a simple lesson in what it means to rely completely on God.  Kinda like the Israelites wandering in the wilderness and relying on the "manna" from heaven.  This was an exercise in developing confidence in God's protection over them.  And I think that's largely true.