Three weeks ago we started a weekly Sunday morning service in the back of a Turkish coffee shop in central Lawrenceville. The first series that I’m teaching is on the Lord’s prayer. This past week I taught on “give us this day our daily bread”. One of the main points in the sermon was that God will provide for us what we need, but will not necessarily provide for our greed. The reality is that God often provides for us more than our daily bread, but often God provides us more than we need so that through us He can provide others their daily bread.
In the midst of my sermon prep I came across a quote by a Pagan philosopher named Aristides who wrote around 125ad. I was so convicted by this quote.
We so often talk about wanting to be like the early church. As I plant E3 my desire is that we would be a church that sees God move through us as He did with the early church. But as I’ve studied, one thing I have found is that the early church’s witness was not summed up in a program, marketing, cool worship, etc. The church’s witness was so powerful because the early Christians were radically devoted to God, each other, and the world around them. This devotion was so extreme that even the Pagans of the day had to take notice. This is the context in which Aristides is writing concerning this new Christian movement. Here is the quote:
“if they hear that any of their number is imprisoned or oppressed, all of them provide for his needs. And if there is among them a man that is poor and needy and they have not an abundance of necessities, they fast for three days that they may supply the needy with their necessary food.”
When I read this quote I’m so convicted. Notice how Aristides notes that the early Christians not only provided for others out of their access, but even when they themselves barely had enough, they would go without for a few days just so that they would have enough to care for others. As I read this I think about how much I have, how much God has given me, and yet I still struggle at times to let go of some of my comforts in order to care for others in need. I have to be honest, I don’t know if put in the same circumstances as many in the early church, I would fast to provide for others. But the reality is, I’m not in the place where I would have to do that. The reality right now is that God has provided me enough that I only need to let go of my access to care for my brother and neighbor. What is haunting me is that so often I get consumed with needing more “access” instead of looking at what I can cut out to be able to provide for the needs of others.
After preaching this sermon, I’m really starting to look at my finances and priorities. Too often we begin to think that all that we have has been given to us for us. But the reality is, yes some of what we have been given has been given to us by our Father for our needs and pleasure, but I believe that much of what God has given us is not for us, but, that through us God can provide for the needs of others. Right now Coleen and I are looking at all of the “stuff” we have that we just let sit around. So much that we have is wasted while right down the street there are those with nothing! I don’t know what it will look like, but I know that we need to change some things.
Now I don’t think it is wrong to have stuff, I don’t think we are all called to a “monastic” vow of poverty. I believe that God often blesses us and in the proper context we are to enjoy those things God has given us. To continue the analogy from the Lord’s prayer, some time God gives us our daily bread along with a steak and some cheese cake. And it is Ok to enjoy that steak (at least I hope so or I’m in trouble cause I love a good steak). But often God will provide for us 3 loaves of bread and while we enjoy two of the loaves one is left to rot and be thrown away. The issue is not enjoying what God has given us and turning it back to Him in praise. The issue is hording what He has given us as we let it go to waste. Coleen just told me tonight that she is bothered because all around us are loaves of bread that are rotting, while others are waiting, hoping to receive their daily bread.
I’m asking all of you, are you hoarding that extra loaf of bread that God gave you so that through you He could provide another person their daily bread? Or in other words are you taking what God has given you to meet your needs and the extra He provided to feed you greed? Or are you thanking God for providing your need and looking at the extra provisions He has blessed you with as a means to provide for the needs of others?
