Youth Rally and Time to Give

Wow! We had a 162 at youth rally even with all of the Homecomings and other activities going on in the area. God displayed an extra measure of grace because our final dress rehearsal/practice was a disaster! Things went off very smoothly Friday.

Time to Give: we were in II Corinthians 9 this morning. It seems the economy is on everyone's minds partly because of all the media attention to it and because of it being an election year. Commentators on the Point of View radio broadcast often remind us that the president can do very little about the economy. It is true that he can do nothing without the help of congress. His biggest opportunity is to influence people who can help. According to the news media, however, you would think the president can really control the economy. The candidates even perpetuate the myth by playing the game and talking about what they could do if they were elected.

Everyone has a need for financial well-being. We do all have a need to eat. We need shelter, etc. II Cor. 9 contains one way to improve your financial well being. That is to give. Doesn't that seem paradoxical? I mean, you need to get something and the advice is to give! However, the Scripture says that he that sows sparingly share reap sparingly, and he that sows bountifully shall reap bountifully. It also says that our giving should not be done grudgingly, but cheerfully. I'm told that the Greek word carries with it the idea of giving "hilariously!"

A paradox is something that appears to be a contradiction but really isn't. For instance, Jesus is both fully God and fully man. That seems contradictory, but both elements of the statement are necessary to describe Christ, and both are true. In a real contradiction, one of the elements is false. In a paradox, both elements are true. So, it is often paradoxical that when you need to get, you are prompted give without knowing how things work out. Then somehow they do work out and you receive unexpected blessings.

In my own life, I've seen these principles work time and time again with only two exceptions: One exception is where the times when I have failed to follow God's warnings about credit get away from me (since that involves other biblical principles, maybe that is not really an exception). The other is that God shuts off the extra provisons when He wants to get my attention. Beyond those two exceptions, God has done some amazing provisions for my family and me. It is almost paradoxical how it works!