Give Yourself Away (Ex 36-38)

Has God ever surprised you with abundance? No, I'm not a "prosperity gospel preacher." When I say abundance I'm not talking about money but a wide range of things. Maybe it is 

friendship, or love in your family, or an opportunity to do something you have always dreamed, or a lesson learned... etc. I'm reminded of one of my favorite stories, the Giving Tree. 

God is always doing things abundantly. That is exactly what Jesus said about his mission on earth... "I come to bring life abundantly" John 10:10. God wants to give you life abundantly.... but what on earth does that mean?

I am convinced that the scriptures paint a picture of God as one who is the ultimate giver of good gifts. As a follower of Jesus, the ultimate gift and the ultimate giver, I am called to go from being a taker to a giver. I cannot stress this enough, God wants to give us so much life that we spend the rest of our lives giving ourselves away! 

Consider this passage from Exodus...

They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.”

 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

Exodus 36:3-7

The people had just been disciplined for using their gold to make idols of false gods, the golden calf. Once that correction sinks in they are given the task of building the tabernacle, a representation of heaven's throne room on earth. God had not left them... He moved forward with his plan to live among his people, a plan fulfilled completely in Jesus (John 1). Now the people begin to give... and give... and give until there is an abundance of gold, silver, and fine cloth.


I see two important things for you and I in this passage. First, when God gives abundantly he often times uses his people to do so. It was the people that kept giving and giving beyond what was required. Think of a time in your life when you have experienced some sort of abundance. How did it come about? As I reflect on my life, it has always been through others God has used. My mother who took on my first college loan to free me for my masters, my friend Tim who took me on trip to Spain, my wife who calls me out to be the best version of myself, our friends the Wagners who faithfully prayed for the miracles we experienced with the births of our children, the leadership of the congregation I now serve who care for my family... all of these are examples of God using people to bring about some sort of abundance. What are yours?


Secondly, I've noticed that God tends to use places of deep wounding or failure to become our greatest opportunities to give. The Israelites has misused their gold and silver and yet it was these very materials that became the content of their generosity. In my own life God took me from almost dropping out of college because of self-worth issues, and made me into a teacher of the Word. God used faithful mentors and second-chance-dads like Glen Carlson, Joe Johnson, and others in my life to pick me up and empower me to serve. What are the wounds or failures in your life that God is just waiting to redeem? Maybe you are ready now, or maybe its a few years, and for me a ton of therapy, down the road. 

I read The Giving Tree to my son sometimes at bedtime. Now as an adult, I see it much differently. For a long time I wondered why the boy didn't give back? I realized that the boy never learned to give himself away and no matter how much the tree gave it was never abundant enough to fill the gaping whole in his soul... That is hard to explain to a three year old by the way. 

God's giving is much different that that of the giving tree. 

God W

ants to give you life abundantly! Thats what he does. He wants to give you so much that you spend the rest of your life giving yourself away. May you be blessed today with reminders of God's abundant giving in your life.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Reading Plan:

April 8th - Leviticus 1-4

April 9th - Leviticus 5-7

Second Chances (Ex 32-35)

God loves to give second chances... Real relationship is built on second chances. Fathers and sons,  daughters and mothers-in-law, husbands and wives, you and God... every relationship we have is based on second, third and four chances. A relationship isn't ever really tested until someone fails. There is a reason they call the first days, weeks, or months the "Honeymoon Phase"... I guess the timing just depends upon how fast we are likely to mess things up.


Michelle and I have learned to live life in the second chance. We miss things all the time. Sometimes its the opportunity to clean the house before the other has a big day, or simply forgetting to ask "how was your day?" at the end of a long week. One time I forgot to mail out a whole stack of thank-you cards Michelle had spent hour working on. Life without second chances would be miserable and lonely. Think about the last time someone close hurt you. What happened? Did you "kiss and make-up?" Is there still hurt feelings?


My knee-jerk internal reaction to hurt has always been to say to myself... "Fine, that's it, I'm outa here." The funny thing is, I don't act that way, its not the type of person I am. Maybe its God's Grace. Maybe its because I married up and my wife is such a better person than I that she always calls me back to relationship, reminding me that the person who hurt me simply hit a raw nerve in my soul that is afraid of rejection. I think a big part of it is rooted in the fact that I have been on the receiving end of countless second chances. When was the last time you received a second chance? What happened? How did you respond?


It is interesting to me that the first thing Israel did when Moses was gone a little to long on the mountain with God, was to make new gods for themselves and party like it was 1999 (outdated prince song reference). And what did Aaron do? He wimped out and helped them do it. Moses broke the stone tablets God had written on in anger. But, Just when God was about to wipe out the people and start over, Moses steps up and toke the bullet. He invited God to consider his own character and calm his wrath. I bet that made God proud, I can just see God saying "way to go Moses, you are starting to understand what I want to do here." 


Just like a child experiences consequences when a parent catches him running into the street, Israel felt the consequences of worshiping other gods. Ultimately, God spared them and exercised a great deal of patience with them because... God loves to give second chances. The tablets a a perfect example... This time God didn't do the writing for them, they had to do it themselves. In the middle of this scene Moses asked God... "Now show me your Glory."  God, consented with the condition that Moses would only see the rough equivalent to his back side, since even the sight of his full face would destroy Moses. As he passed by God covered moses to protect him and proclaimed his name. The interesting part is what he said...  


“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
Exodus 34:6-7


While God doesn't erase the consequences for our mistakes, he loves to give us second chances when we turn back to him. Do you need a second chance? Is there someone in your life that could use a second chance from you? May God bless you with his love of second chances.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen