Skip to main content

Giving with Delight

To the God we serve and delight in...

On a daily basis we constantly struggle with the perspective of what it means to forgive and give/serve others.  I realized that when we are actively serving those around us, old friends, new friends, family members, co-workers, ministry partners, volunteers, interns, students, your pastor, the barista that rung up your coffee this morning etc...we tend to live in the illusions of self by bring our baggage from the past.  

Some examples: 
-I'm experiencing a bad morning, so I don't have to smile as I leave the barista that just rung up my morning cup of coffee.  
-I was stuck in traffic this morning and wasn't in the mood, so I didn't  feel like opening the door for the intern with the big pile of papers/books in hand on the way into work.
-I haven't heard back from my old high school friend for like 10 years, and they just called in for a favor, why bother responding.
-I did not appreciate how my grandparents treated me as I was growing up, so why help them in their daily needs.

Free of Charge (book cover), Miroslav Volf
I realize that the Lord wants us to experience healing and forgiveness through His grace and love for us.  I am currently finishing up a book called Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace by Miroslav Volf.

Some excerpts from this book read:
-Forgiveness vs. Justice, "But God did so not out of impotence or cowardice, but in order to free us from sin's guilt and power. (pg.161)
-Christ our Righteousness, "We are creatures precisely in that we live in God and God lives in us.  We are sinful creatures when we fail to recognize this and live as if we were self-made, self-standing individuals." (pg 149)
-What is Forgiveness?  "Forgiveness is a special kind of gift.  When we give, we seek the good of another, not our own good, or at least we don't primarily seek our own good.  The same is true of forgiveness.  We forgive for another's sake, though we too may benefit from the result.  But there is also an important difference between giving and forgiving.  We give when we delight in others or other are in need; by giving, we enhance their joy or make up for their lack.  We forgive when others have wronged us; by forgiving, we release them from the burden of their wrongdoing.  (pg. 130)

I realized that when we give to others our attitude of giving comes directly from our experience with forgiveness. The illusion of our mood, our attitude, demeanor, our perspective, who we favor, and who we love stops us from offering delight to others based on who we think deserves it, usually decided from a previous experience of ours. The more baggage we carry the more difficult it actually is to give to others and  to take delight in giving/serving others. If this is so, how can we delight in the Lord daily who has already given and sets us free?

In the examples above, I was remembering some things in my life that made me want to withhold from delighting in the simple gifts of giving and forgiving.  As I realize that while we give/serve others before ourselves we are daily being healed, and learning how to delight in the Lord. It starting from the simplest thing; the very breath that we breathe.  I hope and pray that this can be a simple daily choice that each of us heading to SEALS 2012 and within our communities could embed into our daily life.  Choose to give, choose to forgive, and choose to delight in the Lord.  

So the next bad morning, maybe instead of just leaving the barista that just rung up your morning cup of coffee offer a simple smile out of delight.  
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inside Out

He is working in us on a daily basis, even when we are not in tip top shape.  This was Paul's hope, prayer, and encouragement to the leaders, forerunners, and churches:   Therefore do not loose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, though inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. -2 Corinthians 4:16-17 (NIV) He continually works from the inside out. May our mind be set towards kingdom thinking; may this be our prayer this week. Let our prayers humble us as we continue to serve our churches, communities, work place, friends, family, PEOPLE that dwell with us.  He truly gives when we are opened to receiving.
Post a Comment
Read more

Glowing with Joy

May the glow of the fire in your eyes be like the glow of joy in your hearth, May the warmth of your hearth overflow  like the love that overflows from your hearth.   It's almost Valentine's Day...most of us look at Valentines Day and think about the curse of the western stigmas of "love".  Red ruffled heart shaped pillows with white embroidery, conversation heart candy, chocolate, teddy bears, and flowers. BUT....Honestly, when we are receivers of these gifts and happenings...it feels so good.  The feeling of so much happiness and love, the simplicity of how love does.  A kind of love that brings us great joy from connections with that person that was so willing to give.  That joy and love captivates us.   For much of our population Valentine's Day draws out quite a skeptical and quite jealous, prideful, hurt filled heart, filled with pain, pity, sorrow, sadness, anger, and  a feeling of overwhelmed consumerism and materialism. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

SEALS 2017 Morning Meditation - Listening Prayer thru Art

Matthew Geppert from Southeast Asian Prayer Center (SEACP) challenged conferees to take a moment to reflect and listen regarding our Identity.  The   continual  encouragement was to  remember  and minister to ourselves this message.   And  when we are struggling most to  remember it and profess it outwardly during those hardships. We repeated in response: “I AM WHO I AM  MADE BY THE I AM WHO  SAYS WHO I AM.” This morning create a time and space for listening prayer.   Perhaps the Lord may offer an adjective to describe the season, provide an affirmation, a new name, a vision, or an image.   After listening, perhaps draw, sketch, paint, or color the provided word.   It can become a process that will reveal a lesson, bring healing, and/or bring clarity. Creative methods and strategies with new tools may have its struggles and uncover an emotional or spiritual ep...
Post a Comment
Read more