So it all began with Clayton King, who is an author, and one of our campus pastors at the college. He has been teaching on generosity in campus church on wednesday nights and how it is important to be generous with the things God has blessed you with. I took a lot from his message the first wednesday, November 3rd. It was awesome and had to do a lot with action and how we can be generous easily because we are so rich in Christ and in Spirit.
Then the wednesday before I left, November 17th, Clayton spoke a second message on generosity and specifically from 2 Corinthians 9:6-11. He spoke primarily about how we are to bless others to spur them on to bless more people in the world, and how we are God's stewards of His finances, and His time. Then again, at home this time... my home pastor, Bill McCready spoke on the EXACT same passage. 2 Corinthians 9:6-11. He took a different approach, not opening with generosity but opening with the idea of leaving a legacy to be remembered by, then he led into generosity about how generosity and good deeds are the two key factors in a lasting legacy. And THEN.... this morning, November 23rd, I opened my devotional, which has just been going day by day for a while now and right there the title states, "A Lasting Legacy."
Obviously God is trying to show me something.
So I thought I should share a little about this with you.
People are watching us, and will continue to replay our lives over and over again throughout history. The mark we make on this world is important and it is our responsibility to manage that impact. I, personally, have been blessed beyond my means. God continues to give to me and I try to obey by giving as much back as I can, trying to bless others around me with my time and also with my money. Sometimes I get weary though, I think it might be easier if I just kept the money for myself, for a smoothie later, keep the time for myself, in order to have some "me-time," i can always bless others later, right? Wrong.
We should always be looking for ways to bless other people around us and seeking opportunities to further the Kingdom of God. To leave a lasting impression on the world, not of us, but of Jesus Christ.
In Psalm 78, David states, "What we have heard ad known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done... so the next generation will know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands."
As it is shown in this passage, we are to be proclaiming God's great works he has done through his children all throughout history. We are simply the pages of tomorrow's history books. We have a calling to make an impact, so let's do it. As the body of Christ, let's all join as one and make movements in this world that we never could have imagined on our own. Trust God and have faith.
"...but if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." -Matthew 17:20
God has trusted me with so much in this life, and he doesn't give any one of his children more than he can trust us with... I ask myself today, "how can I use what I have today to further the legacy of Jesus Christ, to be a testimony of his awesome power in my life?"
My God is so good.
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