Part 2 of May 15th blog. ("Gospel generosity")
On May 15th I wrote about Alexander Balfour, a hero who did much for the Kingdom of God, and was entrusted with increasing resources for global impact. There will be those reading that who know his life history and legacy far better than me, maybe those who are even critical of him for some political reason. From my own perspective I have to be honest and say I've simply been deeply humbled by such a man and his obedience to the mandate and heart of GOD. Maybe (at a push) the only thing some could level at him as criticism was that his impact and legacy of transformation in society was limited to his own era. He could not achieve or accomplish a lasting system or infrastructure of help to those of low income which survives in our age. Relatively little is left of his legacy which helps modern Britain. Liverpool, shipping, and the world has changed a lot since then. Is this a legitimate criticism of a Godly man ? Surely he did what was right for his own time, shared the gospel and saw many come to Christ across the world through his acts of generosity and ambassadorship for Christ. This was his time of responsibility and he was faithful. This challenges me deeply.
Does God not require each new generation of followers of Jesus Christ to fulfil the mandate of God in their own generation? It is easy to point the finger at others when we ignore the fingers pointing back at ourselves.
Many followers of Jesus Christ do see the need to do something when faced with people bearing the image of God living through poverty, low income, and trial. What we do however matters. Good intentions will not amount to anything on their own, and proclaiming the kingdom, compassion and love of Christ whilst our hands selfishly guard our wealth neither honours God or bears fruit.
In our own context in the UK, USA, and Canada we enjoy a standard of living greater than our ancestors could've dreamt of. No, I am not trying to make you feel guilty for that, just grateful, and pray that together we will have a faithful desire to use our generational and relative wealth well. Please God we will at least pray, repent as appropriate, and consider if what we are doing is helpful to those in poverty, to gospel proclamation and whether it offers an appropriate ongoing legacy for the gospel. In reality all of us (Balfour included) are just mere humans, we are not the Messiah and our legacy will be limited. The glory is His not ours. However, mere humans and our feeble attempts can be used greatly for His glory, because He is the one who is able to do immeasurably more than we can think or imagine. He can take our humble fish and loaves when given with a grateful heart, and use them for multiplied blessing.
The world bank cites that half of the world population lives on less than $6.85 / £5.33 a day. In many of the countries we are working in (to establish gospel churches and missional duplication) the amount is significantly less (typically around 30% of that). Brothers and sisters in Christ are among those dealing with such a poverty challenge personally on a daily basis, as they help orphans, widows and families devastated by disease and circumstances which are in many parts of the world preventable and historically solved. All of this is before we get to those nations so spiritually poor that they are yet to hear the good news of Jesus Christ from those who follow and love Him. If we have food in our cupboards, fuel in our cars, water (let alone internet, streaming services, a comfy bed, a watertight roof, luxuries such as toilet paper and medicines) we are amongst the wealthiest of the world.
How should we respond to figures like Balfour today...
and what can we learn from them ?
Those who made such an impact on poverty and the spreading of the gospel in previous generations did so because they submitted to the weight of biblical mandate. They submitted themselves to the heart and mission of God in such a way that it resulted in actions of faith.
The two things that are categorically not appropriate when we see God's heart for the poor is intentional ignorance for the sake of self-centeredness and inactivity. We are instructed that those who know and follow God have compassion and action for the poor. This is not an advert for ACTION. I'm sure there are times when not all has been done as it should, but I am proud to belong to a team who are constantly submitting to the word of God and trying to ACT on it. God is gracious and seems to delight in even our rubbish and minute efforts on a global scale when they are done in genuine faith and worship. Good intentions though really are not enough on their own. Every mission agency whether global or local should be considered and dilligent about the real connection links between what is understood to be what we have received from God, and what we are actively passing on and sacrificing for with the resources God has entrusted us with.
World bank map of income 2023.
(Money is only one criteria for measuring wealth)
The Biblical mandate challenges our comfort and prompts us to do something personally and relationally.
At the heart of what God has gifted us with in himself is the undeniable true cost and extent of His generosity (John 3:16). Leaving wealth behind, to be generous with a hurting and compassionate heart is the essential foundation of all profitable mission. We can hurt for false worship, idolatry which does people no good, poverty and its impact on the family, pain whether from sin or a fallen world, brokenness and decay, injustice and oppression from sinful rule, the prosperity of evil and greed which causes deprivation and impoverishment, the lack of gospel hope. In a broken world this is not as it should be, it is though our daily reality to which we can so easily become desensitised. It is our reality, our world, whatever size of sofa and TV screen we watch it from. Feeling the pain however is not enough, because this cannot stay just as sympathy, or be solved by an arm's length BACS transfer. This might ease our conscience or affirm self rule in our own mind, propping up our pharisaical high view of ourselves, but it is not appropriate for a child of God to respond in such a limited way to his unbounded plenty and abundance of grace. Our God so loved this world and us in our mess so much, that He came himself. Personal, relational sacrifice is the price paid by those who follow Christ. His grace knows no limits.
When we reflect on those of bygone eras (Balfour, Wilberforce, Wesley, Carey, etc, etc.) what we notice is that they are people whose relational compassion resulted in relational sacrifice and action. Considering the stiff upper lip culture and harsh normalities that many of them were surrounded by (especially Balfour in shipping), this is all the more remarkably the countercultural work of Christ and His grace. The danger in our age is that we know it is appropriate to love the poor if we follow Christ, for we have heard it at conferences, have unread books on our shelves, unlistened to podcasts on our phones on the subject of helping the poor and great missionaries who did ...yet we ourselves live a life primarily driven by the materialistic synchronism of our age, without realising how comfort driven we are. Maybe we even give regularly to mission agencies and our local home church, but because of the depth and consistency of our wealth... it may not actually impact us that much on a deep level or ongoing basis. As far as emotions go, we see the money go out on a statement, and hope that somewhere, somehow, it helps someone who might be in a bit of need. The relational hurt, mandate and action of Christ is so different, so much more personal, so much more costly, urgent and responsive.
Maybe the most helpful thing we can do at this juncture is meditate on scripture, and let the full reality of God's heart connect with ours... impact us to repentance, worship, and grace grateful eyes that burn with a passion to practice what we say. (In part 3 we can consider the reality of our actions that help not hinder the poor, their receiving and giving of the gospel).
1 John 3:16-18
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Matthew 25
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
GOD'S PROVISION TO US: Phil 4:19
"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
WHEN FURTHER GIVING IS HARD, WE RELY ON HIS RESOURCES AND STRENGTH...
This is a good place to be:
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half-done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men.
For out of His riches in Jesus,
He gives, and gives, and gives again.
