I have a friend with a large house on the Jersey Shore, and
a 45-foot boat on which he invites friends to go fishing. He mentioned
the other day how his cleaning lady had asked him for some help to pay the
medical bills of a sick mother. The mother has no medical insurance, and
she had already been in the hospital for three weeks. My friend said he
was glad to help. "My cleaning lady has so little and I have so
much," he said. He gave her $200.
My friend said he realized that his gift would cover only a
small portion of the hospital bills, and now he felt guilty that he had not
given more. But, he said, at first he was not inclined to give her
anything, and then guilt induced him to give the $200.
There was no spontaneous generosity here. He seems not
to have been moved by compassion.
What kind of love do you think God requires? Showing
mercy is commanded both by Jesus and often in Scripture. But shouldn't it
be initiated by a willing heart, and not just be in response to a
command? What is the right way to respond to a needy person?
Perhaps we should remember the mercy of God. Through his mercy we receive
his grace (unmerited divine assistance given freely to humans in
forgiveness of their sins). ---- a huge benefit we receive but have not earned?
One way to look at the question is to ask, "How selfish
are we if we eat steak and drive two cars, while many in the rest of the
world are starving?" This may create great emotional conflicts in
the hearts of some Christians. We may feel guilty! However, all
sorts of defense mechanisms are quickly engaged. "Can I help
it if I was born in this rich country?" "Will it help anyone if
I stop driving two cars?" "Don't I have the right to enjoy the
fruits of my labor?" Soon, with an anxious weariness, we turn away
from books or speakers who simply make us feel. guilty toward the needy.
True mercy is spontaneous ---- it is an expansive love which
comes from an awareness of the grace of God. The deeper the
awareness of the free gift of grace from God, the more generous we might (
hopefully) become. One measure of a Christian may be whether he or she
loves to give. How regularly are we aware of God's gift of grace to us
personally? Is it something we want to repay by passing something like
this along freely to others?
To put it another way, think of showing mercy to the needy
as our "sacrifice of praise" for God's gift of grace to us. It
truly is a "sacrifice" on our part, because whatever we give to the
needy (be it money or our supportive time, for example) we have given it away
freely, and we do not have it any more. It is a "sacrifice."
The risen Lord Jesus is not here for us to anoint his feet, so instead we
have the opportunity to help the needy as a "sacrifice", to
show our love and honor for Christ, and for God's gift of grace.
Why is generosity a mark of being a Christian? Imagine
a person who is deathly ill. The doctor announces to him there is a
medicine which can certainly cure him. Without it, he has no hope.
"However," says the doctor, "it is extremely expensive.
You will have to sell your cars, even your home, to buy it. You may not
wish to spend so much." The man turns to the doctor and says,
"What do my cars mean to me now? What good will my house be? I
must have that medicine; it is precious to me. These other things which
were so important to me before, now look pale by comparison to the
medicine. They are expendable now. Give me the medicine!"
Awareness of the grace of God (like a miracle medicine) is
equally that precious to us. Our possessions, our money, our time, all
become eternally and utterly expendable. They used to be crucial to our
happiness. They will no longer be so, as awareness increases that we have
received the gift of God's grace.
A sensitive social conscience and a life poured out in deeds
of mercy to the needy, are the inevitable signs of a person who really
understands the nature of God's grace freely given to us. Guilt should not be
the only motivation for helping the needy.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult
Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal
spiritual growth this year at CPC.
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