For God so loved, He gave
Jn.3:16
Nothing is greater than love. It is the necessary requirement in all of life. 1 Cor.16:14: “Let all that you do be done in love.” Every thought, word, and action is to flow from love. Love is the sure evidence of being born of God. 1 Jn.4:7: “Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
Love is also the certain proof that we are true disciples of Christ. Jn.13:35: “By this all men will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.” Lacking this, we are no better and no different than any other sinful man.
Though you may have all faith, without love you are nothing [1 Cor.13:2]. Possessing every spiritual gift will profit you nothing without love [1 Cor.13:1-3]. In fact, love is the greatest commandment upon which all other commands depend [Mt.22:36-40]. To fail here is to fail in everything.
Love is what moved the Father to give His Son. Jn.3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” It is the pure motive behind all true giving. The love that gives cannot be compelled.
It is a voluntary decision of the heart to give of itself. Love is a choice to be a blessing by giving to those in need with no thought of self-gain.
Rom.5:5: “The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” This was the reason that the first church immediately and freely gave to their brethren in need [Acts 2:44-46].
No one taught them to do so. No laws were established requiring this behavior. They were simply “taught by God to love one another” -1 Thess.4:9.
It is what is needed in our own generation to restore us to a selfless life that glorifies God and benefits men: the love of God poured out within our hearts, the love that gives.
Love does unto men as it would wish to be treated itself [Mt.7:12]. The focus of love is upon others, not upon self. Phil.2:3-5: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourselves.
“Do not merely look out for your own personal interests but also for the interests of others. You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had.”
Concern for people’s needs is possessing the mind of Christ. This is the example which He Himself has set. 2 Cor.8:9: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.”
He laid aside His own interests, emptied Himself, and gave of what He possessed for the everlasting good of many. This same selfless sacrificial spirit filled the hearts of the first Christians.
Acts 4:32: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.”
A selfish man is interested in getting. A Christian man is looking to give without thought for himself. This selfless life is at the heart of true Christian living.
2 Cor.5:15: “He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” This puts everything in its proper place. Living for self is God’s description of a sinful life that one must be saved from.
All believers must deny self or they are not true disciples at all [Mt.16:24]. Serving self and serving Christ cancel each other. A man can do only one or the other but not both.
Selflessness is the principle of Christ which governs the hearts of all His people. They give with no thought of reward in this life [Lk.6:30-36]. They lend “expecting nothing in return” -Lk.6:35.
Christians are so free from thought of self-gain, that they even work so as to give to others. Eph.4:28: “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.”
Even the rich among true believers are not selfishly seeking their own gain. Their hearts are set, not upon riches, but on sharing with others.
1 Tim.6:17,18: “Command those who are rich in this present world, not to be arrogant or to set their hope on riches, which are uncertain, but on God. Tell them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous givers, sharing with others.” This type of selfless giving is a proof of the love of God within the heart of a man.
It shows that self-seeking is not motivating their actions, that they are “not affected by covetousness” -2 Cor.9:5.
Only a selfless man will do as Christ commands: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor” -Lk.12:33. All that a Christian is and has is to be given for the blessing of others.
Self is sacrificed for the good of others. Money is viewed in terms of how it may be put to use for eternal purposes. This is what the Lord Jesus told us to do with our resources.
The parable of Lk.16:1-15 describes a self-seeking man who devoted himself for his own personal gain. He was a corrupt man who sought money for selfish and unjust ends. Yet the man was wise according to the wisdom of this world.
He looked ahead to coming days when he could no longer divert funds from his employer into his own pocket. He acted in the present to ensure a future reward.
This is the point of the parable. The lesson to be learned from the unrighteous steward is this; use what you have now for enduring benefits beyond this life.
Jesus said in Lk.16:9: “Make friends for yourselves by means of the Mammon of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.”
Or, as the NIV translation says: “Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
Money is to be used as a means of blessing to the eternal well-being of men. It is not to be wasted upon self. Wealth is to be given freely and devoted to the purposes of the kingdom of God.
All that we are and have is to be for the good of others. One day, riches will have finished their purpose in this life. What will we have done with what has been entrusted into our hands?
How have we used the means at our disposal to influence men for the kingdom of heaven? Will there be anyone in the eternal dwellings who will welcome us there due to our sacrifice here on earth for their salvation? Will anyone bless the Lord forevermore that we gave of our wealth here on earth so that they might hear the gospel?
I think we would all be happy with such a welcoming committee.
It is more blessed to give than receive -Acts 20:35
Copyright Steve Phillips 2020