We Are the Body
"And if we are the body, why aren't his feet going? Why is his love not showing them there is a way?"
--Casting Crowns, If We Are the Body
He doesn't need us to accomplish what He will undoubtedly accomplish. But He cares enough to involve us in His Kingdom work. It's our life's blessing and purpose to pour the time, talent and treasure He so graciously handed to us. And what He gave us is not primarily for us - our comfort and control - but for His glory, to build His Kingdom.
All glory and honor are yours,
almighty Father, forever and ever.
The Giving Movement does not begin with us. It begins with our Creator. We simply can't. But He can. And He will.
Despite the chronic need surrounding us, we continue to worry: We worry about keeping up with the Jones's. We worry about our retirement and having enough to go on all those vacations we always dreamed about. We worry about what the world and the Enemy tells us to worry about.
I know - ouch.
But ... "if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)
"Wait... not giving is wicked?" Yes, it is. Ignoring the needs of the least of these while resting on far more than our daily bread is wickedness, and is the way of the world, not God's way. The only reason we live in His creation is to glorify God. There is no other reason you or I exist. So if we aren't glorifying His great name, what are we doing? Answer: Sinning against our holy God through passivity.
The answer is prayer.
The answer is fasting.
The answer is repentance.
And the answer is obedience to the call to generosity, despite the discomfort and uncertainty with which that obedience will come.