A Life Worth Giving: Giving All

A Life Worth Giving: Giving All 

Malachi 3: 8-12, Luke 21: 1-4

Today we’re beginning a new sermon series called A Life Worth Giving. Over the next three weeks, we’re going to explore the idea of a generous way of life, and along the way we’re going to consider how giving our best and all to Jesus helps us live lives of purpose, meaning and joy. There are tons of great examples from the Bible that illustrates how generosity is God’s preferred way of life for us, but for me, there’s one story that stands out from the rest. And it’s my hope that this story, even though it’s not very long, will inspire us to give nothing but our very best to a God who deserves nothing less. Would you read with me?

A few years ago I came across a book called The Hole in Our Gospel, which tells the powerful story of the non-profit organization World Vision and its former President, Richard Stearns. And it was one of those books that did a number on my faith. On one hand, I was sort of embarrassed that my faith had never really asked me to risk much. On the other hand, I began to wrestle with all the what if’s that accompany a story like this, namely, What if God asked me to do the same thing? How would I respond? You see, before he was President of World Vision, Richard Stearns was an up and coming CEO in corporate America. At age 33, he became the President of Parker Brothers, which was followed by a short stint at Franklin Mint. After a few months, Stearns lost his job, but somehow landed at Lenox, the famous fine china company, where he quickly climbed the ladder until assuming the roles of President and CEO. That was a pinnacle achievement for Stearns. As CEO of Lenox, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He was living the American Dream, with a beautiful farmhouse and a beautiful family, and he hoped to stay there forever. It was a dream come true for Stearns, because his life hadn’t always looked that way. As he details in his book, Stearns’ childhood years were far from secure. “My parents,” he writes, “divorced, my father declared bankruptcy and the bank foreclosed on our home. I grew up knowing we were one paycheck away from broke.” But now he had everything he wanted, the life he had worked so hard to achieve, the dreams of every American family…and then came a phone call he never expected. Would he it all behind to serve Jesus with an organization called World Vision? 

You know, that might be one of the scariest questions we could ever ponder. Would we leave behind everything we know to follow Jesus? Would we give our all so that Jesus can do what Jesus wants to do? I’ve never met anyone in the church who didn’t think helping out here and there wasn’t a good idea. But giving all is an entirely different conversation. If you want to put the brakes on a really good conversation, start talking about how much one should give. Or how much one should leave behind. Or how much one should do. And I can pretty much guarantee that will be the most uncomfortable conversation you’ll have that day. 

There was a young man who once had just that type of uncomfortable conversation with Jesus, and he left feeling frustrated and disappointed. He was really interested in Jesus, really intrigued by what he was learning, and was just about ready to make the jump into a full faith commitment. He was a young man full of promise and full of resources…the type of person you’d want to come to your church. If he had been asked to come to Bible study, to volunteer at the next event or to simply follow the rules, maybe the conversation would’ve gone differently. But then he heard these words that made him turn around and go home: “Go and sell all you have and give to the poor, then come and follow me.” 

The challenge with giving our best and all is just that: it includes the words best and all. Not some or portion or part. But best and all. And those are words we usually reserve for things like our career (I’ll give you my best), our family (I’ll love you with all my heart) and our favorite football teams (They better give 100% or I’m never watching them again).  But when we choose to follow Jesus, we’re invited to put God at the top of the pecking order. And here’s the thing: it’s expected. God expects giving our best and all to be our normal mode of operation, but that’s exactly how God gives to us. And that’s what makes this story from Luke so important. 

God’s very nature is a self-giving existence that doesn’t hold back. It was out of a deep love for us that God chose to give his very best (His Son) and his all (His one and only Son) so that the blessings of His Kingdom could be also be ours. This is just who God is. Giving is what God does, and it’s no stretch to say that God envisions us to let that same character flow through us. This is one of the reasons God was so upset with His people in our reading from Malachi. They weren’t giving their best. They offered to God out of obligation, and what they offered was a second-rate offering. But that’s not the type of God we serve. We don’t serve a second-rate God who sends us leftovers. We don’t serve a God who keeps the best for Himself and gives us the rest. We serve a God who gives us everything because he’s driven by a fierce love for us. And when God sees one of us giving in that same manner, taking what is so meaningful and simply placing it in God’s hands, He notices. 

In the midst of that crowd that day, Jesus looks up and notices something that I’m sure wasn’t as common as He would’ve liked: an extraordinary act of giving. He was probably used to people walking away, unable to part with their treasures. But this was different. Now, we can’t exactly be certain why Jesus notices this woman, but whatever is happening, it stands out. And it’s important enough for Jesus to elbow his disciples and say, “Hey, look at this and pay attention.” As disciples, they’ve embarked on a journey of following Jesus. And at the very core of this calling is this expectation that over time they’ll become like the One they follow. And believe it or not, this woman’s silent testimony has something to teach them, and something to teach us, about the generous way of life. 

First, this woman’s testimony encourages us to give in a way that reflects our hope. If anyone had a reason to NOT give, it was this woman. She was exactly the type of person who most needed what the faith of her day could offer, but instead of receiving compassion and assistance, she was exploited by those in power. The very people entrusted to help others just like her ignored her, took advantage of her and robbed from her “little” to pad their pockets. It’s not a pretty picture Jesus paints. In fact, it’s enough to make your blood boil. So why does this woman continue to give? Well, if I had to take a guess, I would say it in one word: Hope. She still believed that God had a plan to redeem what was wrong with the world (even the temple) and that plan was better than every other plan the world had to offer. This temple had let her down so many times, but yet she continued, faithfully, to believe that it stood for something more than what she presently experienced. She couldn’t have known at the time that Jesus was watching her, but I have to believe that her persistent hope in what her temple could bemoved the heart of the One who desperately wanted to become her Savior. And I have a feeling Jesus remembered that moment, that hope, as He took his place on a cross. When we live a generous life, we’re affirming our hope that God is still up to something good. 

The second lesson we learn from this story is to give because it reflects the heart of God. And with everything we do, that’s the goal- to become as much like Jesus as is humanly possible. Early in the Book of Acts, these same disciples who are watching this moment with the widow unfold, have gathered for church. And it’s interesting how their church is described. The Bible says that each one shared for the common good and they sold possessions and property and gave to anyone who had need. You ever stop to think where they learned this? Now obviously they learned it from Jesus, but I wonder if that moment at the temple determined something radical in them. I think Jesus was trying to teach them the type of leaders he wanted them to be and the type of church he wanted them lead. He wanted them to lead the type of church that reflected God’s heart, a heart that never intentionally overlooked anyone, a heart that gave nothing less than the best to bring redemption to a broken world, a heart that believed people matter. When we give and live generous lives, we’re reflecting the same heart that paved our way of salvation through His death. 

Finally, the last lesson we learn from this woman’s story is that generosity, more than our words, reveals the extent to which we trust God with our lives. Those two small coins were laughable compared to the other gifts given that day, but to the widow, those two coins were security…they were comfort…they were resources…they were all she had to live on. And she gave it all away. You see, giving your best and all isn’t really about what you have. It’s about you. And it’s about the manner in which you trust God with your life. Because when you trust God with your life, the conversations about “how much” aren’t quite as significant anymore. That’s because God always finds a way. Sometimes I’ll hear people say they’ll live generously once their lives change, but it usually doesn’t work that way. The truth is that if we wait for life to change, we could be waiting for a really long time. What if things never get better? Or the promotion never comes? Or we’re never presented the big opportunity? Or the temple never gets it right? What if we keep the best of ourselves to ourselves and give the leftovers to God? We might never become the people we want to become. And that’s really the point. Jesus said we’ll become the people we long to become, we’ll find the life we desperately desire, when we give it all away.

Sixty days after that life-altering phone call, Rich Stearns stood in Uganda, helping a 13-year old boy and his siblings find new life. Their parents had died of AIDS, and their small shack had no running water, no electricity and no beds. Uganda was a long way from the comforts at Lenox, but today, World Vision helps restores the lives of 3.5 million children in nearly 100 countries. And much of it has to do with a man who gave his best to Jesus. You see, when we give, when we place our lives in God’s hands, something comes alive within us. As we give, we become like the One “from whom all blessings flow.” We discover that our “cannots” are always outshined by what God can do! And we discover a life that is rich in purpose. Because whatever we “lose,” whatever we leave behind, whatever we give up, is no match for a God who is faithful and will always be enough. So friends, are you ready to take the plunge and give it all to God? We have a life worth giving. And there’s no better way to spend this life than to  give it all to Jesus and celebrate all the good that He will do. Amen.