This article was originally planned for SOTHLC’s November newsletter from our Stewardship Committee. They have chosen, instead, to publish another article. The other article will be forthcoming.
God calls us to be His instruments, bringing the living reality of Jesus to others around us. We are channels through which God seeks to grant His blessings. Perhaps, you’ve heard this saying: “With God, we can’t; without us, God won’t.” And of course, we know the greatest blessing of all is when we bring Jesus to another, and the Holy Spirit creates or strengthens faith in that person.
So, how can we be the channels of God’s grace to another? What makes us channels through which His blessings freely flow? Perhaps, some of the following can help you grow in your understanding of God’s grace as you meditate on who God has called you to be.
Have an eternal perspective. The greatest purpose for helping others is for them to be brought to faith in Jesus. This means we use what God has given us to be in their lives, so we can be the living presence of Jesus to them through what we say and do. This happens both individually and collectively.
Individually, we serve God by serving others whom God has placed in our lives. Collectively, we do this as a congregation. As a congregation, we can do this because “on the first day of every week, each one of you [has] set a sum of money aside in keeping with your income” (1 Corinthians 16:9).
Jesus says, “Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so when it’s gone, you will be welcomed into the eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:19). What we buy with our money rusts, wears out, and breaks down. But what we use for God’s kingdom is eternal.
Be in God’s Word. Jesus is the Word of God. “And the Word [Jesus] became flesh and made his home among us. We have seen his glory, the glory as the One-and-Only of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The idols we make of money and possessions can only be broken as Jesus continues to come and reshape us in His image.
And where are we remade in Jesus’ image? That happens in the Divine Service where the Word, Jesus, is preached into our ears and received into our mouths in the Lord’s Supper. That also happens as we study the Word (Jesus coming to us in the Scriptures) in our devotions at home. That also happens when the Holy Spirit returns us to our baptism when we repent and turn back toward God.
Become wise managers of what you have. When we manage what God has given us (money and possessions) as stewards instead of owners, we increase the ways God can use us. If we let money and what we want run our lives, that squanders what God would have us do with what we have.
The question to ask yourself is this: “Do you control what you have or does it control you?” When you wisely manage what you have, you then can help others more generously because it’s not already spent.
Willingly live a self-imposed lifestyle. Choose to live modestly instead of buying to the limit of what you can afford. When you choose to live modestly, that creates a greater potential to serve others with what you have because you have greater financial flexibility.
When God is in control of what you have, instead of your wants, you can more easily be a channel of blessing to others. That enables you to help others in your personal life. That also enables you as part of our congregation to help us collectively be a place where Jesus continues to come to us in Word and Sacrament. When all of that comes together in such a blessed way, it’s much easier to be a “cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
