Give Away What God Gave to You
Please memorize:
Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy.
Matthew 5:7
Q1: Have you ever had the chance to spend someone else’s money?
What was that like for you – as a youth, as an employee, as a family member. Most of the money we spend is earned with our work, brain power, and creativity; but sometimes we have a chance to spend someone else’s money via an expense account or other funds to which we have access and for which we have responsibility, usually accountability too. Right?
Q2: Ever wondered what it would be like to have unlimited access to unlimited funds? In a very real sense, as followers of Jesus Christ, we do! Romans 8:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:3 are very clear that we have all we need as God’s adopted sons and daughters. Of course, we aren’t given access to unlimited money because God knows that would ruin most of us. We seem to be able to mess up so many of the blessings we receive or at least we fail to use them properly.
Q3: What are the items listed on the ledger sheet of our nation’s sins for which we deserve judgment? Into which of these line items have we added our own sins? We are not here standing in judgment but in need of mercy, aren’t we?
The promise in the scriptures we read is that we have all we need to live a godly life, which is the most valuable possession anyone could ever have. To live and love as Jesus, to be part of His forever family, and to invite others into that same family are priceless gifts. So now what?
Now, that we know we have these resources from God, let’s not be stingy with the wealth in our account. Our sin account was paid in full by Jesus Christ’s death, and through His resurrection and the life He offers to us, we get a new account with unlimited resources for a godly life. This account may include the money we need to live and give, places to live, friends and family beyond our ability to imagine, forgiveness, loving kindness, mercy, and awesome power over sin and the Devil we could not have imagined before Christ came to us.
Since we have all this wealth in Christ, don’t you think we should give it away? I imagine you already have been giving away love, mercy, tenderness, kindness, patience, care, and many other resources including your money and time in helping others – starting with your own family.
Jesus exhorts us to be merciful and promises to give us even more mercy. In this life we need mercy, don’t we? The blessings of God are given to us though we don’t deserve them. Not getting the bad results we deserve to get because of our sin is one way to explain mercy. When you forgive someone – whether or not you are asked for forgiveness – is a great way to reveal mercy to them, God’s mercy. You have been forgiven and give His forgiveness away to another. Mercy comes to the merciful again.
Q4: In your life, what ways and in what times have you needed mercy from God and others and received it? To whom have you shown mercy? What was the response?
Either way you look at it, mercy is a wonderful gift from God to us, as His children.
Q5: Would you think of some people in your life who “deserve to reap some bad results for what they have sown into their life, your life, or others”?
Are these as much in need of mercy as you and I are? Probably. Thank God privately or with someone in a close relationship with you for the mercy He has shown you then give forgiveness away from your treasure-house which is full of the mercy of God….it is new every morning.