“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” 1 John 3:17 (NIV)
When you pull up to a traffic signal and notice a man holding a cardboard sign saying, “Need food! Please help!” What kind of thoughts race through your mind? Do you wrestle with the notion to roll down your window and extend a dollar bill or maybe even a five dollar bill? Then again, you may start pondering what he might spend the money on. In your mind you are thinking that he may take the money and go buy alcohol, cigarettes, or a lottery ticket. You question whether he will really use the money to buy food as his sign advertised.
Does God expect us to use good judgment? Yes! But, God also expects us to help meet needs. Remember this concept: God does not bless you based on how that person spends the money you give. God blesses you based on your heart in giving to meet needs.
John takes the concept of meeting needs into the arena of the family of God. We are to help fellow believers. In fact, if we are unwilling to use the resources God has blessed us with to help a brother in need, then how can the love of God be in us. In other words, God’s love is evidenced as we meet needs.
God’s love compels us to be generous. Generosity will not flow naturally. It is a supernatural experience. God has blessed us to be a blessing. Ask God to show you some needs this week that He wants you to meet for His glory!
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care
0 replies on “Love”
Todays’ devotional adds insight to a lot of things i hear from children (maybe from their parents) about helping the folks on street and the children in our Sunday School classes and VBS will very often tell me that these people are not for real and that you should give them “this” or “that” but, not money. I continue to pray that we as teachers’ are able to convey the heart message to them. Thanks for the great devotional.
debbie
Growing up, my mom always had “care packages” ready for the homeless/in need on the street corners. It was such a blessing to see the people we gave them to get so excited about what was in them.
I moved to this side of town after I got married and was cautioned by many that these people were all running scams and that I shouldn’t waste my time, but I still wanted to help – ministering to “those people” was something I was raised doing.
One day I pulled up to the light at Gessner and 249 and a man with a sign was there. I had $2 and a granola bar in my car so I rolled down the window and gave it to him. He looked at it, laughed, leaned in to my car and started looking around saying, “Surely you have more.” I told him that I gave him all I had and he walked off to the next car.
I left that situation very shaken up and angry that I had given him what I had and it wasn’t good enough. I was very put off and wrongly thought, “Well, he should be grateful for ANYTHING!” Then one day I realized that my attitude was not right at all in this situation!
It’s exactly as Dr. Trammell says in this devotional – “God does not bless you based on how that person spends the money you give (or in my case what the person thinks of what you gave them). God blesses you based on your heart in giving to meet needs.”
I lost a blessing that day and for a while to come because I lost focus of why I was giving in the first place. I also let one not-so-great experience put a damper on an amazing experience I had been having all my life.
Don’t be afraid to give – do be mindful of your surroundings and use common sense – but know that God abundantly uses whatever you give freely.
Thank you for a great (and close to home) devotional!
🙂
Jeanette