These priests left their comfortable homes and traveled for weeks to a strange land, bearing expensive gifts. Upon seeing Jesus, they knelt before him filled with joy. Zoroastrian Priests get it when Jewish religious leaders looking for their Messiah never recognized God’s sign.
Money has a dark side and a light side. The dark side involves greed and poor management which leads to excessive debt or extensive hoarding. The money we possess can bring out our worst traits. Churches are not immune. Sometimes the biggest arguments and disagreements come when churches are deciding how to spend a surplus or large gifts.
We don’t know when Jesus will come again. We don’t know when our life on earth ends. We don’t know when that time comes when the only thing that matters is when we stand in front of God. “So, be prepared.”
When we’re truly devoted to someone or something, we’re willing to take risks and make sacrifices. If you want to know what you really love, look at how you sacrifice with your time, energy, money and dreams.
Paul wrote: “Give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” (Romans 12:1)
Nothing consequential happens without risk or sacrifice.
But… there was a growing dissatisfaction with my life and a question that haunted me: “Is this all there is? Now what?” Obviously, something happened that changed me and answered my “Now What?” questions.
The chickens were quite impressed by the goose and his stories. They asked him to tell more about his high-flying adventures. Soon, it became a weekly event for the goose to entertain all the barnyard birds. They even provided a box for him to stand so everyone could see him.
How does your church provide hospitality to strangers? A visitor wandered into a bazaar with a lost expression on her face. Immediately someone greeted her and showed her around. In a few minutes she was being introduced to others. Before long, she was sampling Brunswick stew and talking.
This can be funny but also it can be frustrating. Disagreements pose a danger of distracting us from our primary mission of showing the love of Christ. Our influence as Christians as seen by outsiders often centers on our ability to lovingly resolve disagreements, even minor ones.
“I’ve got an idea,” he said and picked up the phone and instructed his office manager to bring him a check for $743.00. Then he handed the check to me and said: “I want you to take this money and put it into one hundred different envelopes and give it to 100 people in need.” As I took the check and began to thank him, Mr. Riddle asked me another question. “Larry, this is my gift and I’m happy to do it. Now, the question is… what will you do?”
When the supervisor arrived, however, he didn’t even look at the cash register, but instead picked up the check and began to talk to the customer. I could feel the muscles in my stomach tighten as the reality of what was happening struck me.