Gaius was a generous Jesus-follower. We keep cultivating a generous lifestyle with our time and resources. When we give God our time, our skills, our money – all of it, he blesses all of it and lets us use most of it to have a beautiful life. And what we are generous with by giving it, he multiplies into other’s lives for the Kingdom.
Extravagant Generosity is determined by our choice to give and not by how much we have in reserve. The size of your bank account doesn’t win you the Father’s admiration. Your choice to be generous no matter the size of the account is what demonstrates the Father’s heart.
In Scripture, there is a developing awakening through both words and actions that slavery is not a Kingdom value. In the OT, the people of God used slaves. In the NT, slave owners became Christians and are challenged to embrace the redeemed slave as brother. The declaration is this to the Colossians: “neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, man nor woman – you all are one in Christ Jesus.” Slavery was universal throughout this time. But the seeds of heaven’s values were firmly planted into redeemed hearts and slavery’s days for the Christian were numbered.
In a culture battle, don’t pay back, don’t wish it, don’t pray for it. Love you enemies, pray for God provision. This is our greatest weapon. Find joy in the journey. Love unconditionally. Pray without ceasing. Thank God for the outcome. Why? Because we love Jesus with all we are, then we love others with all we have to give.
Church, we live in a time when Faith and Culture in our nation are on the collision course. And while we may bemoan that it’s not like it used to be, or that not many people sign up for what we do. But it’s reality. And the solution today is this: stand firm in your faith, speak truth in love, be resolved that this is your hour, be diligent and faithful in your relationships and keep growing and running after your love relationship with Jesus alongside your church, so that “no one will be shaken by the pressures and persecution; for you know that we are destined for these kinds of things.”
