Category Archives: Generosity
Grace Is Not Stagnant
The Jordan river in Israel flows into the Sea of Galilee then moves southward and it ends in the Dead Sea. It enters and leaves the Sea of Galilee, vibrant and full of life. Fisherman are still seen on the shores of the lake, as in Jesus’ time on earth, harvesting the tilapia that thrive there. In contrast, when the Jordan River enters the Dead Sea, it never exits. The water becomes stagnant and briny. As the name implies, there is no life in these waters. What enters and does not exit is dead. So it is with grace. Grace is not stagnant. If it stays in a person and does not flow out from them, it is not grace at all. It is dead.
I was reminded of this during my stay at Henderson Settlement in Appalachia this last week with the Sheridan United Methodist Church youth group. There were a total of 165 other “work campers” there with us completing various projects from painting to construction to sorting donations for the thrift store. We had devotions every morning presented by different groups. On the last day we were there, the designated group performed a skit depicting the results of grace in action. One person offered a beggar a prayer while another took it a step further by buying him a meal. Which person truly offered grace?
There is nothing wrong with praying for someone. Prayer opens possibilities for the Holy Spirit to work though God’s people. But often the person that should be empowered to act is you! Grace is a free gift from God which cleanses us and grants us life forever. We could never do enough to pay for it by what we do and God does not ask us to do that. Jesus already did that for us. However, if after accepting this gift, we fail to pass it on, then maybe we never really took ownership of grace in the first place.
James, the brother of Jesus, said that “faith without works is dead.” If grace flows in but never flows out, it isn’t real grace at all. It’s stagnant and dead like the Dead Sea. True grace is vibrant and living like the Sea of Galilee, flowing out to everyone it meets and touching them with kind acts and gentle words. What this looks like is different and unique for each person. We all have varied talents and preferences. Spending a week in a dorm with about 80 other women, sharing 4 showers and working on constructing a storage shed, is not for everyone. I enjoy short-term mission trips but this would be intimidating to many others. The number of ways to extend grace is as varied as the number of people in the world. We all have gifts to give. We just have to step out of our comfort zone and give them away.
But what if I’m not sure what I am doing is God’s idea or mine? Is this the work that He wants me to do? I have often struggled with these questions. How do I let God guide my actions? Andy Andrews, the author of “The Travelers Gift”, suggests that God works best on moving objects. He uses a boat in a river as an analogy of God’s guidance. The rudder of the boat doesn’t work if the boat is sitting at the dock. But if the boat is floating down the river, the rudder is able to move it where the boat needs to go. Let God be the rudder of your life. He can’t move you where you need to be if you are sitting at the dock. Move out in faith where you see a need. God will guide you when you are moving outside of yourself.
Grace is not stagnant. It is flowing like a river. Don’t be afraid to launch your boat into its waters. The wonder of it all is that it never fails to flow back to you in greater measure than what you allowed to flow out. As you give, you will receive in abundance, gifts that are eternal and never wear out. The shed that we built while at Henderson Settlement was for a disabled, elderly man and his sister who had moved back to Tennessee from Indiana so she could care for him. Their 2 other sisters lived in the same “holler.”They insisted on feeding us our lunch this last Thursday in gratitude for what we were doing for them. When we had completed our part of the project, the walls were up and the metal roof placed on the 12 x 12 foot building. It was just a simple shed but the expression we saw on their faces told us that it meant much more to them. The tears and hugs shared before we parted, are the gifts of grace returned that will stay with us forever.
Whenever I have been involved in missions, I always receive much more than I have given. ALWAYS. I may come home tired from the hard work and the long hours but I will continually return for more. That’s the way it is with God’s grace. Once you’ve seen its power, you long to stay within its flow no matter how near or how far the river of grace may take you.
Measuring in Moments
TGIF! It’s Friday morning as I write this and I am happy for the week-end to come. On Sunday, I leave with the Sheridan United Methodist Youth Group for Henderson Settlement in Kentucky on a mission trip. This is my first trip with this particular group but I have participated in numerous mission trips with varying goals over the years. Often people will ask me how my vacation went when I return from a mission trip. Many times I’m more fatigued when I come back to work than when I left. This was especially true after two trips to Haiti. Those medical missions were both physically and emotionally taxing. Yet they were amazing. So much can occur in one short week!
That’s the crazy thing about time. It’s always the same 24 hr. day but depending on your perspective, it can seem faster or slower. Every day on a mission trip is eventful. It seems to be somehow fuller than an ordinary day. Maybe we are living temporarily on God’s time, not human time. When our clock is set on eternity, we don’t mark off time by night and day but by events. Each day is endless and full to the max in a good kind of way. We’re in a constant present tense. There is no longing for the past or the future; no regret for what has been or fear of what is to come. We are content to be in the forever “now.” We rarely live this way on earth but we should.
Eternal perspective sees life as a continuum. It doesn’t stop with day or night, with birth or death. It stretches on but yet it’s not linear. God sees all of time all at once. This is why He knows what we will do in the future and what events will transpire. In his book, “Mere Christianity,” CS Lewis discusses our confusion over God’s time. “The difficulty comes from thinking that God is progressing along the Time-line like us: the only difference is that He can see ahead and we cannot. Well if that were true, if God foresaw our acts, it would be very hard to understand how we could be free not to do them. But suppose God is outside and above the Time-line. In that case, what we call ‘tomorrow’ is visible to Him in just the same way as what we call ‘today’. All the days are NOW for Him. He does not remember you doing things yesterday; He simply sees you doing them…He does not ‘foresee’ you doing things tomorrow; He simply sees you doing them: because though tomorrow is not yet there for you, it is for Him.”
I doubt humans will ever be able to see time this way, but just as we won’t be bound by sin and death in heaven, we won’t be bound by time. We will have more than enough time to do everything we want to do and to become the person we were always meant to be. We won’t have to worry about having to stop because the day is coming to an end because it won’t. There will be no night. The brilliance of God will illuminate everything. Even better, our relationships will go on forever. We won’t be separated any longer from those we love by death or distance. The time we were apart on earth will seem like just an overnight away compared to the time we will have to love and be loved by our family and friends in eternity.
We get a glimpse of eternity when we live in the now. Our earthy lives by design are momentary and predictable. Night always follows day and death always follows birth. But to live for those we serve today without thought for our own agenda, is really how we should live. This is heaven on earth. Time set aside from a busy, scheduled life to go on a mission trip is a holy activity. It may be only a week, but in the scheme of things, it’s much bigger. The time spent caring for others is measured in moments, not minutes. If only for a week, we step out of earthy time into God’s time. Someday we will live this way forever.
As much as possible, live each day wisely, fully and gratefully. Grateful not just for what we’ve been given but grateful for what we are able to give. In this way, we establish the Kingdom of Heaven in the here and now, not just in the future.
Receiving Gracefully
For Memorial Day I took my soldier cupcakes. Garrett still enjoys a little mothering sometimes and home baked goodies usually hit the spot. We chatted a bit about Memorial Day and all that it means to the military community. In the course of our conversation, he commented on how many people offer him meals when he is in uniform. It often makes him feel uncomfortable to accept these gifts. Recently he was out with 7 of his National Guard buddies at a fast food restaurant and a lady offered to buy all of their meals. He turned her down because he thought it was too much to pay for all 8 of them. The others were a little upset that Garrett didn’t accept her offer but he didn’t feel right about it.
It’s often difficult to accept a gift when you are generally the giver. A soldier is by nature a servant. He or she would not volunteer for this duty if they didn’t have a servant heart. Much is said in the Bible about giving. ” Be a cheerful giver!” “Give and it will be given to you!” We are encouraged to give sacrificially. But what about when you are the receiver? How best is it to respond in a situation like Garrett’s?
Jesus is a great example of what it means to be a gracious receiver. Let’s be honest. Jesus doesn’t really “need” anything from us but it gives him great joy to receive the gifts we offer Him. When he was dining at the home of Simon, a teacher of the law, a woman of ill repute crashed the party and began to anoint Jesus’ feet with a jar of expensive perfume. The others in the room couldn’t believe that He didn’t scold her and send her away. In contrast, He praised her actions as she honored Him with her gift. Jesus said that she would be remembered for all time for what she did for Him that day. By accepting her gift, Jesus accepted her. At that moment, she must have felt truly loved.
Another example of graceful receiving, is the apostle Paul, as he offered appreciation for the gifts given him by the Philippian church while he was in a Roman prison. He wrote, “…not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” Paul was not demanding of gifts from the church but he accepted their gifts whole heartedly as their offerings to God. These sacrifices were credited to their account in Heaven.
These examples show us that it is just as important to be a good receiver as it is to be a generous giver. When we accept a gift, we are accepting the person giving the gift. We are validating their care and concern for us. We allow them to experience the joy of giving and the credit given to them in heaven for their gift. The woman who anointed Jesus’ feet just wanted to thank him, in the only way she knew how, for the greatest gift anyone could ever give her: Eternal Life. The woman in the fast food restaurant just wanted to thank Garrett and the other soldiers for the gift of freedom that is ensured by their willingness to serve, in the only way she knew how, by paying for their meals.
So the next time Garrett is offered a meal as thanks for serving in the military, I encouraged him to accept it. By accepting the gift, he validates the person’s motive for giving and allows them to experience the joy that follows. He should never take advantage of his position or act as if he is deserving of more, but humbly acknowledge the gift and the giver. Sometimes being the receiver can be the most difficult thing we ever have to do. Our culture encourages us to see ourselves as independent, in control and not in need. The greatest gift ever given was paid for on a cross yet most people never accept it for this very reason. Ultimately, humbly receiving that gift is the most important thing we will ever do.
True Heroes
The day after the Super Bowl for the avid football fan has to be a bit of a let down. After the hype from competing commercials and the fanfare of the singing of the national anthem to the grand production of the half-time show, we are overwhelmed by it all. For a day football is king and its players are our heroes. I imagine most of them would really rather not be put on this kind of pedestal. Society is quick to put an elite athlete or movie star in this high position just to knock them down the next moment. It’s a tenuous spot at best. Peyton Manning, the gentleman that he is, handled defeat like a hero. I imagine he learned this by watching his dad, Archie who was a tremendously talented quarterback on a losing NFL team year after year. The Manning family character is to work hard and give it your best effort, win or lose. It’s all a part of the game.
Most heroes don’t share the limelight with those like Peyton Manning and his family. They live quiet, ordinary lives until the circumstances of life call upon them to be heroes. Sometimes it’s a split second decision that leads to courageous action. Other times it’s a decision to hold on when most others would have given up long ago. No matter what, all heroes have the common characteristic that they are willing to sacrifice themselves for others. This is not a trait that just happens without effort. It comes little by little in decisions every day to give more than they get. Then when those circumstances arrive that call for courage, there is no question what action they will take.
Who are the true heroes? Some are famous but most will never be noticed by anyone other than those who have benefited from their actions and example. My heroes are the numerous patients and friends who have fought cancer, sometimes for years. My friend Brenda always had a smile on her face and a kind word to say, no matter how much pain she was enduring as she went through one treatment after another for breast cancer. She was an example of true grace as she passed from this life into the next. Her grandson thanked me recently for being one of those who helped to care for her. I could see her smiling face through his and I know that a part of who she was is being passed on to the next generation. What a blessing!
My heroes are Denny and Pam at my church who tirelessly care for Denny’s mother as her memory continues to fade. As Denny slowly leads his mom up to the altar for communion, his love and care for her is a light to all who witness it. It’s not easy day after day for he and Pam to carry out all the little things the rest of us take for granted, making sure that Helen is bathed, dressed and fed. This is a sacrifice that they choose to give. My own mother did the same for my grandmother for years before her death. It’s family caring for family even when it is difficult and often times unappreciated.
My heroes are the teachers at Sandy Hook who sacrificed their lives to save the children in their care and the eight year old boy who ran back into a burning trailer to rescue his disabled uncle after already saving several other family members. They could not wait to ponder their decision to act. They had no idea ahead of time that they would be called upon to give their lives that day. My heroes are the firemen who ran into the Twin Towers to save others only to lose their lives moments later as we watched in horror when the buildings collapsed. Our firemen, police officers and military train endlessly to be physically and mentally ready at a moments notice to put their lives on the line for all of us. It is a choice to give one day after another. They don’t know if this day may be their last.
Most of us are not talented enough to be professional athletes or called into service professions like our firefighters. We may have ordinary jobs behind a computer or a cash register. We may be a stay at home mom trying her best to raise her family day by day. However, we all have the opportunity to be heroes. I propose that all these heroes I have mentioned have one characteristic in common. Giving was a part of who they were everyday-it was a daily choice. So when circumstance called upon them for courage and endurance, there was no question what they would do. In essence, being a hero is a role each of us has a choice to play. But don’t wait until the time for courage comes upon you or you will not be ready. Chose every day to give more than you get. Use the example of our ultimate hero, Jesus as your guide. He never sought out acclaim or comfort for Himself but chose to give to others up until the moment of his death on the cross. While He was suffering so, He entrusted the care of His mother to His beloved disciple, John. He voluntarily walked toward His crucifixion so that we could live. We are not perfect as He was perfect but we are made in His image, a reflection of His nature. There is a hero waiting to be born in each of us. Chose to be that hero for someone in your life today.
Love Came Down
Of the many gifts given at Christmas, the one our heart truly longs to give and to receive is love. In every wrapped package, I desire to show in some outward expression my love for family and friends. Sometimes the manic pace of the holiday season gets in the way of love and good intentions are replaced by impatience and frustration. It is beneficial to step back, slow down and reflect on what gift was really given on that first Christmas.
There is an old hymn written in the mid 1800’s that is entitled, “Love Came Down On Christmas.” God is described as love and Jesus’ entrance into the world embodied God’s expression of love for humanity. There are many names given to Jesus: wonderful counselor, mighty God, prince of peace, the lion of Judah, the bright morning star, the Word, Emmanuel (God with us) are only a few. All these names give us a little different picture of the many qualities of Jesus. But doesn’t “Love” encompass them all?
A close inspection of the Gospels, reveals Jesus repeatedly loving people where they were. He touched the untouchables, He dined with the despised, and He associated with sinners. His mission was to love the lost and bring them back to God. He didn’t come to condemn but to save. His coming to earth in human form was a huge sacrifice in itself but to die for us was beyond belief. God loves us that much. He is love magnified to a level we really can’t comprehend.
During Jesus’ ministry on earth, the only people He chastised were those who judged others and put huge burdens on them of laws they couldn’t uphold. The law was more important to them than love and this was counter to Jesus’ mission. He had no kind words for the religious leaders of his day. He called them vipers and white washed tombs. They were pretty on the outside but dead inside. Jesus had a way of seeing right through external trappings to who a person really was inside. This eventually lead to his crucifixion.
So how are we to respond to this gift of love that came down on Christmas? Jesus’ command was to love one another as He loved us. This is sacrificial love that knows no boundaries. We are called to love the unlovable, to love people who think differently or act differently than ourselves. We are to love sinners as Jesus loved them because if we are honest with ourselves we all fall in this category. We are not called to judge others. This is Jesus’ job, not ours. This doesn’t mean we don’t stand up for justice when needed. However, when we stand up for an issue, we must ask ourselves, “Am I lifting people up or tearing them down” with my words? Telling the truth in love can be a difficult task. If we drive people away from Jesus by our words, then we need to consider if we should hold our words out of love. As directed in a quote attributed to St. Francis, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words.” Our loving actions speak volumes more than our words ever will.
Jesus came down on Christmas as Love to show us how to love and to save us for love. Let us carry on His mission to the world this Christmas in everything we do and say.
Fish and Loaves
As a child, I remember often having impromptu guests in our home for dinner. My mother approached this dilemma with grace. She would have prepared enough for our family but not enough for an extra person or two. What would she do to offer hospitality? Always she would divide what we had no matter how sparse it appeared. If we had 4 pieces of meat, these were all divided in half to give us 8. Everything else was served “family style” by passing the bowls of vegetables and other side dishes to each guest. Invariably, when the meal was over, we would have leftovers even though before hand we didn’t have enough. It was the miracle of the fish and loaves in action. In God’s economy, when we share, we always have enough. Everyone is satisfied.
I once heard a pastor in a sermon give an alternate explanation of the miracle of the fish and loaves. In the story, the disciples and Jesus are in a very desolate place with a huge crowd of people. The gospel writers estimate the group to number about 5000. It was common at that time to only count the men, so with women and children the number would have been much greater. It was getting late and the disciples urged Jesus to disperse the crowd so they could leave to find something to eat. Instead of doing the obvious, Jesus instead told the disciples to feed the crowd. How were they to do this? A young boy offered what he had: 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish. Jesus had the crowd sit. He blessed the food and broke it. When it was passed around there was enough leftover to fill 12 baskets. Was the food multiplied by Jesus or as the food was being passed did others in the crowd add what they had brought as provisions for themselves? Often food would be carried in a person’s cloak. No one would see it unless it was revealed by that person. Could it be that when the boy shared what he had, everyone else shared what they might have hoarded for themselves otherwise? Whether Jesus multiplied the fish and the loaves or whether the 5000 openly shared what they had doesn’t matter. The story still reveals a miracle. Jesus is able to touch hearts in such a way that they are willing to share and there is always enough. Everyone is satisfied.
I was in Haiti on a medical mission in 2000 and daily we went out among the people to treat many illnesses. We each were accompanied by an interpreter. Most of them were young Haitian men who had learned English and used their services to earn a little money for themselves and their families. On the first day at lunch, we realized as we sat down to eat that we had been sent only enough lunches for our American group. There was nothing for our interpreters. Without a word, we all began to break our sandwiches and fruit in half to share with each of them. There was more than enough to feed us all. We were all satisfied. We made sure that during the rest of our mission, lunches were sent for the interpreters too.
Over this Christmas season as we hurry to prepare gifts and meals for our loved ones, remember those who are left out, the ones that won’t have a meal prepared for them. Share some of your abundance with them and experience first hand the miracle of the fish and the loaves. You will find that there will be more than enough to feed everyone and all will be satisfied.
Praying for Chain Saws
My friend, Dan Lutes has been active in mission work all over the world. He has spent time participating in building projects in the Philippines as well as Viet Nam, Liberia and Appalachia. Recently he sent me an email from a friend of his in the Philippines giving an update on their needs since the Super Typhoon struck the islands a few short weeks ago. This man on the ground related that there was now a good supply of food and water available but what they really needed was chain saws. It does make sense that they would need these but frankly it would have been the last thing I would think to donate. They need the chain saws to cut down the trees that are either already down or near to falling down to use the wood to rebuild. It would be much less expensive to use wood right at the site of the devastation than to ship it in from elsewhere. This is resourcefulness at its best. While most of us are still thinking of relief efforts, these people are developing plans to rebuild their community.
As is often the case, what is donated to mission is not always what is needed by the people involved. Relief efforts are great in the first few days to weeks after a disaster but if relief is all that is given without development efforts, then it produces a still needier group of people dependant on outside resources indefinitely. It’s relatively easy to send food, water, clothing, tents, medicines but it’s much more difficult and time-consuming to rebuild a community’s infrastructure as well as its ability to sustain itself. This takes a joint effort between the people in need and the missioners. In this model the missioners empower the people to help themselves. They are given a “hand up”, not a “hand out”. It involves a lot of listening to the real needs of the people and not taking a paternalistic attitude toward them. Usually education and shared knowledge are a big part in development. Missioners have to be able to stand back and let the people of the community be in charge. Historically most missions have not done this.
In the book, “When Helping Hurts” the topic of how best to give without hurting others or yourself is explored in-depth. It’s a great book to read for anyone with an interest in mission work either here or abroad. After reading it, I had a great sense of sadness when I realized that how I gave probably hurt more people than it helped. Too often I performed a task that I could have taught someone in country to do themselves. The instances when I have been able to work beside the doctors in Haiti and in Ecuador, have been the most fulfilling. I was helping these healers to better serve their own people after I was long gone back to America.
I urge all those who give to charities over the Christmas season to really look at what those groups do and how they carry out their work. It’s important to look at how much of the money donated goes to administrative costs. Generally if it’s over 20% then there is a problem. Also see how much gets earmarked for development of communities, not just relief efforts. The best missions should be doing both.
I am including in this post the letter sent to me by Dan Lutes from “World Mission Builders” in the Philippines. My husband and I plan to send them a donation for their chain saws. I’ll be excited to see pictures in the future of their homes and churches rebuilt and their communities revitalized through their own efforts with this “hand up” rather than a “hand out.” If you want to join in this effort, the contact information is included.
_____________________________________________________________________
November 31, 2013
2nd LEYTE RELIEF TRIP
Hi Ed and all co-workers,
Christian greetings!
The second trip was safe and successful. Thanks to all of your prayers!
Before we left for Leyte, the preachers in Bohol held a meeting at my church to plan the trip to be able to reach most of the churches in Leyte faster and in a shorter time. You know, Leyte is a big island.
During the meeting, we decided to split the group into two teams. The first team headed by Rene Perez was assigned to the churches facing Cebu seas and the second team headed by me was assigned to the churches on the other side of the island facing the Pacific. This is the place where you can find much damage and casualties.
We brought relief goods and cash for distribution.
We left Bohol port at 1pm on board a slow boat with our vehicles and slept the night at Hilongos, at my brother’s house near the port. Early at dawn the groups started the long drive to our respective destination.
My group crossed to the other side of the island under the rain. The road is full of military vehicles protecting convoys of big cargo trucks. We saw foreign nationals riding on these trucks.
Upon reaching the other side of the island, we saw devastation, a seemingly endless devastation. The mark left by the storm surge that kills thousands of people was very clear.
We reached Abuyog town where we have two churches situated far from each other. The other one can only be reached by a pump boat. We left Henry there to personally deliver the goods and the money for the church. We also learned that the other church is located at a very remote place unpassable by our vehicle. We called up the church preacher to meet us and get his goods and money at Abuyog town center.
We proceeded to a long trip straight to Tacloban passing devastated communities.
We reached Tacloban on time as planned. We were pleased to see that our brethren there are basically fine. Our Tacloban and La Paz house churches got less damage from the super typhoon. God’s protection for His people is clearly seen. Teo Bojos the preacher of Tacloban and Eli Melguiades of La Paz, their families and their church members are safe. Teo was out of town when we got there.
Based on what we saw, it is my suggestion that we will stop sending food help now because the vast food relief from foreign countries is now being felt among the affected communities. This recommendation will however never stop other donors who wish to extend food help.
What we now see is the immediate needs of helping our people rebuild their destroyed churches and homes. This is a big work that will take some time or even years to finish but we need to start it right now.
We recommend that the World Mission Builders will purchase 2 units of gas-powered chain saws to be used in cutting and sawing trees for church and house building reconstructions. The island is full of falling trees ready to be used for reconstruction. This is the cheapest, easiest and fastest way of helping than buying expensive wood materials for reconstruction. We have men who know to operate chain saws in Leyte. The chain saws will remain the property of WMB. We will only let it be used in Leyte and Bohol for rebuilding.
The price of a good kind chain saw STIHL brand is P54,000 a piece.
Almost all of our member’s houses were also destroyed. Candelaria church is also totally destroyed but we were not able to reach there and another couple of churches which are located in remote areas.
In behalf of our suffering church families in Leyte and Bohol, we hope and pray that someone can donate funds in buying the chain saws. It will surely help our affected people stand again!
Also, in behalf of all the recipients of the two relief trips that we had, we would like to say thank you for all your donations.
God bless you all!
In Christ,
Jun
_
__________________________________________________________________
Greetings Suzanne,
Our main coordinator on the ground is Ed Thomas and his email is wmbed@juno.com [mailto:wmbed@juno.com]
He is in the Philippines but check should be mailed to his home address, he requests that you send him an email so he knows what’s coming.
World Mission Builders
8160 S.E. Star Rd.
Baxter Springs, KS 66713
You can be assured that 100% of your money is going to the cause…no admin etc.
Blessings.
Dan Lutes
