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A comedian once said, "There are two kinds of people in this world - those who divide people into two
groups and those who do not." Needless to say, that line got the comic a lot of laughs.
It is interesting to see some of the divisions that people make among themselves, some legitimate, some not. The school we go to is a big one; so is skin color. Then there's having the right friends or the right clothing; and don't forget the car we drive, or the house we live in, or the job we have…it seems to never end. Even a preacher once pointed out, and rightly so, that there are those who have trusted the Lord as their Savior and those who have not. But there is at least one other group, and that is the subject of my letter this time.
We all know examples of the kind of people I am talking about. Some people want to "get, get, get" regardless of who they hurt or who rightfully owns what they take; on the other hand, some are more willing to give even if it cost them personally to do so.
A number of years ago I made up a game, do you remember? I put some pennies in the middle of the table and then told everyone to take three, then one, then two; pretty soon we ran out of pennies. Then what happened? I put some of mine back into the middle and everyone could take some more. That illustrates the problem that being a taker creates;
if everyone is taking and no one is giving eventually we run out,
whether we are talking about time, money, or anything else.
Dear children, it is just as important for you to understand what I am not saying as it is for you to understand what I am saying. I am not saying that you should be unwise or careless - that you should give away everything you own without thinking about the consequences; but what I am saying is that each of us have both a delightful privilege and the precious responsibility to become that to which The Lord calls us.
Let me explain what I mean. You guys know that I really enjoy technology and even though many new things are interesting and some are even amazing, very little in this life could be described as truly awesome. However, awesome is the word that accurately describes The Lord's love for us. He is The Supreme Example of a real Giver. The Lord Jesus loved us enough to die for us even when we were "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1) - when we were completely empty of any ability to please God in any way.
God says it this way in His Word, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags." (Isaiah 64:6) The word that God uses for "filthy" is a very strong word that implies much more than just dust or mud - even more then grease or tar. It is a word that is used to describe a cloth that has been used to cover a bleeding
wound; the cloth becomes contaminated with blood and pieces of tissue from the
opening. After a while the particles began to decay and stink. If those rags are like our righteousness just imagine what our unrighteousness must be like!
But do you know something incredibly precious? He knows everything about us and still loves us enough that He died for us. My dear children, that is what a giver is like. But do you know something else really neat? God tells us that His purpose in our lives is to make us just like
Him. He puts it this way, he
made us to be "predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son".
Dear ones, sometimes, when The Lord is working in our lives we do something to interrupt His lesson to us. I encourage you, when God is working in your life to make you more like His Son (more patient, more generous, more diligent, etc.) don't give in to the temptation to short circuit the process by finding an easy way out.
Yield to Him and let His love, grace, and even the bumps He allows into your life to make you more like the one Who
"loved us and gave Himself for us." (Gal. 2:20)
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