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It Is Your Father's Good Pleasure to Give You the Kingdom | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed thinking, where we seek to understand the
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ways God works and how we are called to live.
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It's good to be diving in again. Today we step into a deep dive
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that asks a, well, a really fundamental question about what
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truly makes our hearts sing. You know where our open to
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treasures actually reside. That's right, it touches on
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something we all grapple with. We're often caught, aren't we?
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Between maybe a yearning for eternal significance and the
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relentless pull of immediate earthly security, it feels like
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a constant tension. It really does.
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And this passage we're looking at today, it doesn't just offer
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like simple advice. No, it seems much more radical
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than that. It feels like it presents a kind
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of radical rewiring of our deepest desires.
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Showing us how true freedom and and real joy are found not in
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what we accumulate maybe, but in what we release.
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Exactly. And we're unearthing teachings
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today that get to the very root of our fears about earthly
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possessions, wouldn't you say? Yes.
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Revealing how a true understanding of God's nature
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doesn't just permit generosity, but actually sets us free to
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give with genuine, overflowing joy.
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It's about more than just duty, then.
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Oh, much more. It's about delight.
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God's delight and ours. So it is a look at this
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particular passage from Luke chapter 12, verses 32 through
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34. A short passage, but incredibly
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dense. It really is, and it has so much
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to say about our freedom, our giving, and, well, the
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astonishing generosity of our Creator.
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Astonishing is the right word. OK, let's unpack this then we're
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opening up Luke chapter 12, verses 32 through 34.
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Jesus speaks to his followers saying, Fear not, little flock,
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for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
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Kingdom. Straightaway addressing fear.
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Right then sell your possessions and give to the needy.
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Provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old, with
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a treasure in the heavens that does not fail.
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A treasure that lasts. Where no thief approaches and no
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moth destroys. For where your treasure is,
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there will your heart be also. That last line is the core,
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isn't it? Heart and treasure linked.
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Definitely. Now this passage gives us a
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direct command, sell, give, but it also talks about this
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heavenly treasure and, interestingly, an enlargement of
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our own joy. Yes, it connects giving with
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receiving in a sense. So, some might wonder, isn't
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aiming for a reward, even a heavenly one, just, well, the
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form of self-interest? It seems a bit counterintuitive,
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doesn't it, to link self-interest, even heavenly
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self-interest, with radical generosity?
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That's a really crucial question, and I think it's one
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many people stumble over. But the text addresses it
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directly, I believe. How so?
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Well, the motivation for giving, even when it points towards, you
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know, an increase in our joy in heaven, it's explicitly not a
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calculated self-interest in the way we usually think about it.
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OK, so it's different. It's fundamentally different.
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The radical truth, I think, is that genuine joy in Jesus just
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cannot be experienced alone. It's inherently communal.
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Communal. Think about it.
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Christ lived and died to be, as the Scripture says, a ransom for
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many. That means his joy, his victory,
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his very being. It's all meant to be shared
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widely. So it's not something you hoard
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for yourself. Exactly.
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A true follower of Jesus simply does not desire to enjoy Christ
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in isolation. That would actually be a
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contradiction of the very nature of God's love, which is always
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expansive, always moving outward.
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Right, like light spreading precisely.
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Therefore, when we give our true aim, the scriptural aim is for
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those who receive our help, whether they're friends,
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neighbors, maybe even those we consider adversaries, is for
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them to be enabled to see more of the beauty of Jesus, to taste
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the richness of his grace. So the giving is a means to
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point them towards Christ, yes? Our goal is that they might be
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drawn alongside us into that same heavenly reward, that they
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might participate in the joy we ourselves have found in Christ.
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I see, so it's not about us getting more stuff in heaven
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just for ourselves. No, it's not about selfish
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accumulation. It's about expanding the circle
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of those who get to enjoy the ultimate treasure, which is
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which is Christ himself. That's the treasure that doesn't
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fail. So it's not about a solitary
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private accumulation of spiritual merit points or
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stacking up rewards in heaven just for me.
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Not at all. It's about extending the very
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joy of Christ to others, inviting them into that same
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experience alongside us. That's it, you've got it.
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Wow. OK, that completely redefines
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the motivation behind generosity.
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It's not just charity, it's an invitation.
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It is. It's missional in a deep sense.
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But what if someone feels they're giving generously?
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You know, helping people with real needs, but maybe without
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this explicit aim for the other persons spiritual good?
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Is that still considered an act of love in this specific context
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Luke is talking about? That's a really practical, and
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it's quite searching question. It's a vital distinction the
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tech seems to make. How so?
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Well, let's turn the idea around for a moment.
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What kind of love would it be if, in giving generously to
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someone in need, food, shelter, whatever, we were fundamentally
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indifferent to whether they ever experienced the ultimate joy,
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the joy we ourselves claim to have found in Christ?
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Yeah, that's challenging. If we have no passion, no desire
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for them to gain what we are ultimately offering, which is
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primarily Christ, the source of all heavenly treasure, then our
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giving, however materially generous, could inadvertently
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communicate that the ultimate gift itself isn't truly worth
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having. Or maybe that our ultimate joy
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isn't really worth sharing. Exactly.
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It kind of undermines the value of what we say we believe is
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most valuable. Some people do struggle with
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this. I think they feel that merely
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giving to the poor, meeting temporal needs without aiming at
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their reorientation towards Jesus, without him becoming
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their ultimate treasure, that that's sufficient.
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Just the active material help is enough.
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Right, but the text here and broader biblical teaching really
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challenges this. If we are truly loving someone
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in the fullest sense, we long for their greatest good.
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And the greatest good is. Their greatest good is eternal
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joy in Jesus. It has to be if we believe what
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the gospel says, OK. But that doesn't mean we force
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it on them or. Oh, absolutely not.
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This doesn't mean we must always succeed in their conversion.
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Our aim might not be attained. They might reject Jesus while
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gratefully accepting our generosity.
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Oh, we'd still help them. Of course, we wouldn't cease to
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love them or seek their temporal well-being as long as they live.
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Christian love involves caring for the whole person.
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However, the point here is about the aim not to aim at their
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eternal joy in Jesus is, within this scriptural framework,
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arguably not a truly loving way to give in the deepest sense.
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So the desire for their ultimate good has to be part of the
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motivation, yes? The enlargement of our joy in
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heaven seems intrinsically tied to the size of our heart toward
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others, aiming for both joys to be expanded because they are
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shared joys centered in Christ. Wow, it's a fundamental
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reorientation of our desires then.
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It really is where Christ, not earthly security or pleasure,
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becomes our ultimate satisfaction and source of joy,
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and we genuinely long for others to share in that.
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That truly reshapes the conversation about altruism,
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doesn't it? Framing it within this specific
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spiritual longing for the other person's ultimate good in
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Christ. It certainly gives it a unique
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theological grounding. OK, so the passage then links
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this heavenly treasure, the shared joy, with a very
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practical command. Sell your possessions and give
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to the needy. Yeah, it doesn't stay
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theoretical. No, it gets very concrete.
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This seems to suggest a pretty radical departure from how many
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of us think about our material possessions in our day-to-day
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lives. It is radical, no question.
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So what does this kind of sacrificial giving actually
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reveal about a believer's freedom from, well, materialism?
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The text here indicates that sacrificial giving provides
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clear, you could almost say undeniable evidence that we have
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been set free from the often insidious grip of possession.
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The grip. Yeah, that feels right.
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Money and material wealth can hold people captive in two
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primary ways, and they're often hidden even from ourselves.
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What early? First, there's the eager, almost
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insatiable desire for more of it.
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That constant upward striving for accumulation.
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We commonly call it greed or covetousness.
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The belief that more will finally satisfy or make us
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secure. Precisely.
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And 2nd money holds people captive through a deep seated
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fear of losing what they currently have.
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A fear that manifests as anxiety over security, comfort, status,
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losing control. So either wanting more or afraid
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of losing what we have, both are chains.
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Exactly. And Jesus desires that his
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followers be truly unconstrained by these things.
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He doesn't want our hearts entangled in either the pursuit
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of wealth or the anxiety of its potential loss.
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He wants us free. Utterly free.
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So when we engage in sacrificial giving, it's like a visible,
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tangible demonstration of an internal shift.
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A. Sign of something happening
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inside. Yes, it shows that we have been
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liberated or are being liberated from the idols that money so
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often provides for us. The idol of security, the idol
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of status, the idol of control. It's a tangible breaking away
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from something that can truly enslave the human heart.
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That's fascinating. So it's a visible sign of an
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internal shift, a tangible breaking away from something
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that can enslave us. How does that internal shift
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then translate into our outward actions of giving, making it
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truly sacrificial? Well, it's an outward
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manifestation of that inward reality.
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It flows from it. This kind of giving also serves
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as a clear indication that we have genuinely begun to love
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other people as we should, aligning our priorities with
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God's priorities. This kind of giving powerfully
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shifts our focus outward. It directs our attention away
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from ourselves and on to the pure joy of making others glad,
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especially glad in Christ, ultimately, rather than
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confining us to the private, often fleeting enjoyments that
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can decay in the small, constricted realm of
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selfishness. So it breaks us out of that
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small selfish circle. It does.
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It's a decisive move from inward focused pleasure to outward
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focused joy, from hoarding to sharing, from anxiety about me
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to trust in God and concern for them.
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And this where verse 32 comes in powerfully.
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Yes. Here is where Luke 12.32 becomes
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truly potent. It acts almost like a catalyst
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for this freedom. Jesus intentionally connects
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God's promise with the command to give.
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Remind us of the wording again, he says.
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Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure
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to give you the Kingdom. Therefore, and that therefore is
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critical, sell your possessions and give to the needy.
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The therefore the command flows from the promise.
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Exactly. It suggests that because God
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delights to give us the ultimate treasure, the Kingdom itself,
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because of that reality, we can in turn give freely and without
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reservation, without fear. So the fear of giving, the fear
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of lack, is countered by the Father's pleasure in giving us
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the Kingdom. Precisely this truth about God's
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profound delight and giving us the Kingdom serves as the very
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key to being freed from our fearful, often white knuckled
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hold on possessions. White knuckled hold.
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That's a good image. It acts as the very well you
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could say, the dynamite that can bring down the dwelling place of
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materialism that often consumes our lives.
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These words don't just instruct, they empower dynamite.
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They set us free to sell our possessions and to give
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sacrificially and generously, because our ultimate security is
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no longer tied to what we hold in our hand, but to what God
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delights to give us, the Kingdom.
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Dynamite indeed. OK, So what is that explosion of
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freedom look like in the rubble of our former materialism?
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How do we begin to rebuild our financial lives, our whole
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outlook on this new foundation of God's overflowing generosity?
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Well. It starts with understanding
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God's character, doesn't it? Right.
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You're saying our generosity truly flows from a core
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understanding of who God is. It's not merely a rule to
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follow, but an overflow, a response to His nature.
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Exactly, it's responsive. O let's dig into that.
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What does the text reveal about God's nature as the foundation
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for our giving? Starting with that really
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significant phrase you highlighted.
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It is your Father's good pleasure.
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Yes, this phrase is absolutely central because it uncovers what
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kind of heart God possesses, what his deepest affections are,
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what genuinely brings him joy. It's not just about what he has
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the ability to do or what he performs out of, say,
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obligation. It's about his desire.
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His desire, his delight. When the text says good
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pleasure, it's saying God is acting from his deepest delight,
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his uncoerced will. He is not doing something he
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would rather not do, as if he were under some kind of
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restriction or some cosmic obligation or fulfilling a duty
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begrudgingly. He's not reluctant.
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Not in the slightest. Instead, his joy, his desire,
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his wish, his hope, his gladness, and His profound
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pleasure are all found, according to this verse, in
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giving the Kingdom to his flock. That's quite a statement about
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God's disposition towards his people.
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It is this specific, specific phrasing actively removes any
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notion we might harbor that God might be reluctant or hesitant,
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or maybe possess some hidden ill intent towards us.
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It explicitly rules out any idea that He would, for instance,
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rather bring judgment upon those who are outside of Christ in the
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first instance. His first impulse towards his
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flock is delight in giving. Yes, he acts in genuine freedom
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and delight. This isn't just some dry
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theological concept. It's meant to be an emotional
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and relational truth about God that transforms how we see Him.
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He's not a cosmic accountant checking our balances, or a
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reluctant donor weighing his options.
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He's a father whose very nature delights in giving.
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Exactly, And understanding that character is the starting point,
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the fuel for our own liberated generosity.
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And then connected to that, the choice of the word father, you
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mentioned that earlier. Yeah, it fundamentally reorients
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our entire relationship with God, doesn't it?
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It frames the whole dynamic of receiving from him.
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It absolutely alters our entire view and our disposition towards
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Him. Jesus deliberately calls God
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your Father here. Why is that specific word so
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critical? To help us remove any
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apprehension, any lingering suspicion, that God might be
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unfavorably disposed toward us, or that we are constantly
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walking on egg shells with Him, trying not to mess up.
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He's not just a distant deity. No, he doesn't say God is like
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an employer paying a wage where our receiving is based purely on
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our performance, right? Nor does he like a taskmaster
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providing basic lodging where we are merely servants doing
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chores. He doesn't even say God is like
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a king bestowing a Kingdom without personal connection.
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You know, like a distant monarch granting land to a subject he
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barely knows. The word father implies intimacy
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relationship. Exactly.
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By calling God our Father, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that
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receiving the Kingdom is something natural for us as his
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children. It's our inheritance, our
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birthright, you could say, as adopted children.
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Inheritance. How so?
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Well remember in Matthew 25 at the final judgement, King Jesus
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says, come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the
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Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
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Prepared before we even existed. Yes, think about that.
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Before the world even began, God prepared this Kingdom for his
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children. It is theirs by the right of
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inheritance, not by any merit or earning on their part.
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That's huge. And God does not begrudge His
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children receiving what is rightfully there is through
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Christ. He delights in it.
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This profoundly shifts our posture from that of a striving
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servant trying to earn favor to a beloved child receiving freely
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from a delighted father. So it's not a transaction based
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on our deeds, but a family, right?
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An inheritance prepared even before we existed?
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That's a staggering thought, and one that should free us from a
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lot of anxiety, I imagine. Absolutely should.
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How does this understanding of God as Father also free us from,
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say, the requirements of the law in terms of our giving or our
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relationship with God generally? That's another layer of the
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freedom he offers. It's a deeply liberating truth.
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Furthermore, if the King of the Universe is genuinely our
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Father, then we are unburdened by obligations in a really
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profound way. How does that work?
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Consider an analogy Jesus used himself in Matthew 17.
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Remember the temple tax? Peter was wondering if they had
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to pay it. Jesus asks him.
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What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth
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take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?
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And when Peter correctly said from others, Jesus replied, then
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the sons are free. The children or the king don't
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pay the tax. Exactly.
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This means those outside the family, those outside the palace
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walls, so to speak. They experience the weight of
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rules, the burden of performance, the need to earn
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their way. But the children within the
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palace, the adopted sons and daughters of the king, are
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unburdened by these demands in that same way.
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So our relationship isn't based on meeting legal demands.
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Not for acceptance. No, God is eager.
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He delights to give to His children.
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He shows himself to be a far better giver than even human
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parents who, despite all our imperfections and limitations,
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still know how to give good gifts to our children.
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He is not begrudging in His kindness towards us.
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His fatherhood means freedom. Yes, fundamental freedom from a
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life of legalistic earning or fearful compliance.
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It means a life of grateful reception and flowing from that,
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responsive generosity. OK, so the Father delights to
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give, and he gives freely based on his very nature as a generous
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father. This brings us to another
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keyword in the passage. Give it.
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It seems simple, but you're suggesting it's packed with
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meaning. The text states it is your
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Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
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What does the use of this specific word give?
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Reveal about God's generous character and maybe how we are
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meant to receive. Yes, the word give here is
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immensely significant because it fundamentally highlights that
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the Kingdom cannot, under any circumstances, be acquired
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through purchase. You can't buy it, it can't be
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gained through an exchange of goods or services, you can't
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trade for it, and it can't be earned through any amount of
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personal effort, merit, or striving on our part.
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So no way to earn it. None whatsoever.
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It is received purely as a gift, Jesus emphasizes elsewhere.
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We must receive it simply like a child, which emphasizes
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humility, total dependence, and simple reception, rather than
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trying to earn it or somehow become worthy of it.
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Just foresees it. The only way to truly have it is
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the easiest way of all, in a sense, to simply receive it by
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faith. And this tells us something
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about God's nature. It does.
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God is depicted here not merely as, say, a limited watering crop
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that might eventually run Dr. Too many people drink from it,
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right? But rather as a self
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replenishing mountain spring, constantly welling up with life
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and delighting to overflow with a generosity.
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It's a very essence of an eternal wellspring of life to
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give without ceasing. A constantly overflowing source.
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Exactly. This means God desires those who
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come to drink from His abundance, those who trust in
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His provision, not those who attempt to haul water to Him as
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if He were in need or could somehow be impressed by our
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contributions. He doesn't need our
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contributions to his supply. Not at all.
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Following Jesus in this light means satisfying our souls
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deepest longings with His perfect, freely given love.
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A love that cannot be bought or bartered for or earned in any
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way. That understanding should foster
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gratitude, shouldn't it? Profound gratitude, yes, and
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ideally, a desire to mimic his generosity in our own lives.
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And Jesus piles on another tender metaphor here, calling
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his followers his little flock. We touched on it briefly, but
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what does that specific edition communicate about God's intimate
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care for us, especially perhaps in a world that often values
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strength and self-sufficiency? It adds still further layers of
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affection, profound assurance and deep comfort.
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It's such a warm image. It really is.
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First, the term little flock is intrinsically a term of deep
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affection and personal care. Think of a shepherd's
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relationship with his sheep. Vulnerable need guidance.
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Exactly. They are vulnerable, often
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helpless, and utterly dependent. If a parent says to their
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children in a moment of danger, don't be afraid little family,
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what are they communicating? That they'll protect them.
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Right. I know you are in danger and I
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know you are small and weak, but I will employ all my power, all
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my might, all my resources to take care of you because you are
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precious to me. So Little Flock carries that
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same weight. It carries that connotation of
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tender affection and constant, watchful care.
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It tells us that even though we may feel small, weak, limited in
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our capabilities, or facing significant dangers in this
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world, God our Shepherd will employ all his omnipotent might
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and boundless wisdom to look after us precisely because we
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are so precious to Him. He's not distant, he's
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intimately involved in our vulnerability.
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Yes. And secondly, and this is a
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central point of comfort and liberation from striding, it
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suggests that God's goodness toward us, his delight in giving
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us the Kingdom, does not depend in any way on our own greatness.
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Our performance doesn't earn his care.
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Not at all. It doesn't depend on our
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achievements or our inherent worthiness.
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We are described as little. Little in size, maybe little in
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strength, certainly little in wisdom compared to him.
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Little in righteousness on our own, little in love.
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If it depended on us. If God's blessings, His ultimate
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gift of the Kingdom, were contingent on our own merits or
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accomplishments, our spiritual resumes, we would certainly
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certainly be in great difficulty.
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We'd be perpetually anxious about our performance.
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That sounds exhausting it. Is.
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But that is the central liberating point.
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His goodness and His gifts are not dependent on our greatness.
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Therefore, we have no need to fear.
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That's the freedom again it. Is the Good Shepherd.
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Jesus lays down his life for his sheep, and importantly, he
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doesn't. Not reluctantly or under
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obligation, but of his own free will.
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John 10 makes that clear. No one takes my life from me,
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but I lay it down of my own accord, willingly, willingly.
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This means the Father did not begrudge the gift of his son for
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the flock, and the son did not begrudge the gift of his life
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for his flock. It is the shepherd's profound
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good pleasure to give the Kingdom to his little flock.
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Understanding that should free us from striving then.
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It should enable us to rest in His sovereign, unmerited favor.
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OK, so let's recap. Our father delights to give.
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He gives freely as an inheritance, and he cares
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tenderly for his little flock without our merits being a
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factor. This leads us to the ultimate
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gift mentioned, the Kingdom. The grand prize you might see.
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Right. But when we hear Kingdom, we
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might instinctively think of, well, earthly power, maybe
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political influence, or even just material prosperity, a
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comfortable life. That's the common assumption
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often. But the text seems clear that
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this Kingdom is something else entirely, often quite contrary
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to those worldly expectations. What does the Kingdom ultimately
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mean as God's supreme promise here, and how does it contrast
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with our usual assumptions about power and success?
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This is such a critical point of understanding, and it's one that
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often trips people up. I think the Kingdom God promises
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is definitively not earthly riches.
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It's not a promise of wealth or a comfortable problem, free life
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or worldly success as we typically define it.
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How do we? Know that.
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Well, Jesus states it quite starkly elsewhere.
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Remember Luke 18.25? It's more challenging for a
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person trusting and wealth to enter the Kingdom of God then
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for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.
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That immediately reorients our perspective away from material
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accumulation being the goal or sign of God's favor.
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Absolutely. Nor does this Kingdom promise
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popularity, fame, or the admiration of others.
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Really. Because often those things are
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seen as blessings. But Jesus says the opposite in
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Luke 6.22. He says we are blessed when
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others dislike us, exclude us, speak against us or insult our
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name because of our connection to Him.
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That's a stark contrast to how the world defines success and
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blessing. It really is.
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It immediately shifts our focus away from seeking social
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validation or material gain as the markers of Kingdom life.
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The Kingdom doesn't equate to earthly comfort or having a
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smooth path. That's a challenging
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perspective, especially maybe in our culture that often equates
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blessing with comfort and affirmation.
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It implies the kingdom's benefits are entirely different
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from what the world values. And it gets even more
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challenging, doesn't it? The lack of guarantees.
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It does. The Kingdom also does not
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guarantee safety or peace in this present life, not in a
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conventional worldly sense. No promise of avoiding hardship.
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No, instead, Jesus warns in Luke 21 that his followers might even
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be giving over by parents, siblings, relatives, and
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friends. Some may even face death for his
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sake. We are told we will be disliked
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by all people because of his name.
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So it's clearly not a promise of earthly comfort or political
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dominion or personal security in the temporal sense.
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Definitely not so. If it's not these things, not
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riches, not popularity, not safety, what does this Kingdom
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entail? What is Jesus promising when he
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says the Father delights to give us the Kingdom?
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It means, in a staggering and frankly truly indescribable way,
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that the all ruling authority, the sovereign power of the King
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of the Universe, will be actively engaged forever and
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ever on behalf of God's little flock.
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Engaged on our behalf, not just ruling over us, for us.
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Precisely. This isn't just about a future
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place we go to when we die, though.
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It includes that. It's about the active, dynamic
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reign of God breaking into our present reality and doing so for
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our ultimate benefit. So it has present reality too.
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Yes, it means that here and now, and certainly eternally, the
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King of the universe is not just observing from a distance.
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He is actively working through His people and for His people,
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transforming realities, bringing His peace into chaos,
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establishing His righteousness in the midst of brokenness, all
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leading towards the final consummation.
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Jesus Himself promised this at the Last Supper.
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Remember Luke 22, I sign to you, he says, as my father has
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assigned to me a Kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my
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table in my Kingdom. Eating and drinking at his
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table, that speaks of intimacy fellowship.
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Exactly. It's a promise of intimate
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fellowship, sovereign care, and personal communion with the King
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that far surpasses any earthly possession, any fleeting
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security the world offers, or any human accolade.
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So the Kingdom is ultimately God himself ruling for us and being
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with us. That's the heart of it, God's
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sovereign rule engaged eternally on our behalf, a state of
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profound blessing and communion with Him that permeates every
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aspect of our existence now in part and fully in the future.
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That is the ultimate treasure. It's not primarily a thing, but
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the Person of God Himself reigning and working for our
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eternal good. This truth about God's
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character, his delight in giving, his fatherly care, his
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incredible gift of the Kingdom, which, as you say, transcends
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all earthly expectations. This really does address the
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fears we often have, doesn't it? The fears about giving up our
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possessions or confronting our own materialism.
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It's meant to. It feels like a genuinely
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liberating truth in a profound sense.
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So what kind of life then does believing this, really embracing
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this promise, produce? What does it look like in
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practice day-to-day? Well, you can see the Lord is
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putting great effort into this passage, Luke 12.32 lacifically
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to free us from that nagging apprehension that maybe God is
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fundamentally displeased with us, or that He primarily
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delights in judging people. Or that he's only kind out of
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obligation? Right that he only acts kindly
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out of some cosmic duty rather than out of overflowing joy.
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This liberating truth about God's actual character is
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intended to free us from the grip of money, from the anxiety
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of not having enough, and from that constant craving for more.
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It's meant to satisfy us. Exactly.
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It aims to satisfy us deeply with all that God promises to be
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for us through Jesus Christ. Every single word in that
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passage we've looked at Father's good pleasure, Give, Kingdom,
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little flock. Each carefully chosen word holds
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immense meaning. They seem meticulously crafted
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to free us from the love of money and satisfy our souls with
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God Himself. So what does that look like
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lived out? It leads to a life characterized
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by, well, genuine joy, not forced happiness and spontaneous
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generosity. A life where our possessions are
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seen not as ends in themselves, things to cling to, but as
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resources to be stewarded for God's Kingdom purposes and for
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the good of others. Our security shifts.
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Completely. It means our security becomes
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rooted in the Father's sovereign pleasure and promise, not in our
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bank accounts or investment portfolios.
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It means our core identity is found in being His beloved
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child, not in our net worth or our job title.
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And when that shift happens? When our heart is truly set on
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the unshakable, unfading treasure of God's Kingdom, then
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the transient nature of earthly possessions just loses its power
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over us. It has to.
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We're no longer driven by fear or greed.
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Ideally, no. We're no longer driven by fear
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of lack or by greed for more, because we understand we already
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possessed the ultimate inheritance, the Kingdom itself
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secured by the Father's pleasure.
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That paints a really compelling picture of a life lived in
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radical trust and open handedness.
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That's the goal, isn't? It.
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Yeah. And we actually have a powerful
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historical illustration of someone who seemed to live out
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this belief in a truly extraordinary way, a life that
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clearly demonstrated this kind of freedom from materialism.
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Could you share that with us? Indeed, William Carey, often
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called the father of modern missions who served in India in
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the late 18th and early 19th centuries, offers a wonderful
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concrete illustration of this kind of liberated living.
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What happened with him? Well, around October 1795 he
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received some pretty harsh criticisms from supporters back
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in England. They were suggesting he was too
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involved in trade, running an Indigo factory, rather than
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focusing purely on missionary work.
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That must have stung given his dedication.
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Oh, it was deeply hurtful to carry.
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This was a man who would go on to have over 3 decades of
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remarkably fruitful missionary service without a single
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furlough back home, and the reality was if he hadn't engaged
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in some form of work like that Indigo business.
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They might not have survived. He and his family and the whole
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mission enterprise probably would have starved or collapsed.
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The financial support from England was often slow, usually
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small and quite sporadic and arriving.
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That was a common challenge for missionaries back then.
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So the criticism was unfair really.
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It seems so, but despite the difficult circumstances and the
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personal attack, Carrie responded with this powerful
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testament to his actual priorities.
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He wrote back very clearly. What did he say?
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He stated plainly that after providing only a basic, very
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frugal allowance for his family survival, just the essentials,
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his entire income from the Indigo factory, and sometimes by
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borrowing against future potential income even more than
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he actually earned at the time, was dedicated entirely and
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solely to gospel purposes. What kind of purposes?
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Things like supporting the Indian helpers, the pundits who
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assisted him with the complex work of Bible translation into
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multiple local languages, paying for texts to be copied by hand,
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which was laborious before printing presses were readily
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available there, and supporting teachers to instruct the local
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people about Christ. So everything beyond basic
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survival went to the mission. Everything.
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He made it absolutely clear that the desire for personal wealth
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or comfort did not motivate his actions in the slightest.
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He was, by any standard back in England, quite poor throughout
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his decades in India. And he was OK with that.
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He stated with conviction that he would continue to be so, that
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he intended to live simply until the Bible was published in
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Bengali and Hindustani, and the people had no further need for
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instruction in their own languages.
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His focus was entirely outward. That's incredible dedication.
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It really is. This kind of sacrificial,
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profoundly generous devotion to the cause of God's Kingdom is
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precisely what Jesus meant, I believe, when he gave the
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command to lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
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Carrie's life just exemplified being radically free from the
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love of money. Satisfied with God's provision.
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Yes, and satisfied with God's ultimate provision of the
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Kingdom, focusing outwardly on the shared joy of making others
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glad through the gospel, even at great personal cost.
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It was a life unburdened by fear and driven by that heavenly
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vision Jesus described. What a powerful example.
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The message here, I think, is strikingly clear from both the
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text and examples. Like Carrie, our generosity
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isn't meant to be some burdensome duty we must
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reluctantly fulfill. Or a clever investment strategy
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for heaven. Right.
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Nor is it a calculated move to gain some earthly or even
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heavenly advantage for ourselves alone.
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It is meant to be a joyful, spontaneous and overflowing
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response. A response to what?
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A response to the eager, unconstrained generosity of God
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Himself. He delights.
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It's his good pleasure to give the Kingdom to his little flock.
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Our giving is just an overflow of being satisfied in Him and
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His gift. So as you go about your week,
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maybe you could consider where is my true treasure really does
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my giving, whether it's my time, my resources, my attention?
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Does it truly reflect a confident trust in my Heavenly
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Father's good pleasure, His delight in providing everything
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that truly matters, not just materially but eternally?
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It's a searching question for all of us.
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Yeah, think about how this truth could potentially reshape your
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daily choices, maybe even small ones.
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What small act of generosity, perhaps born from a heart that's
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being freed from fear and driven by a shared joy in Christ, could
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you extend to someone today not just meeting a need, but maybe
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with that quiet, deeper longing for their ultimate good as well?
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Something to prayerfully consider.