The Message
Playing Go Fish with a three year old is a lot of fun. Most people are trying to win, hopeful that the other person doesn't ask for a card they have. Charlotte, however, is thrilled beyond compare when you ask her for a card that she has. She declares "Yes, I do" when you ask if she has a card, then hands it over with a gleeful smile. I almost feel like I'm disappointing her when she doesn't have what I ask for. Her fundamental orientation is to give.
I have a much harder time giving. Whenever I am approached to give, there's a small voice inside me that worries that if I give something up, there might not be enough left over for me. Or even if I think there is now, what happens if the situation changes and then suddenly I need what I freely gave not too long ago. My hands clutch tightly around what I have, afraid of the unknown, afraid of not having enough.
The Gospel path to contentment is trying to fundamentally alter our fear of scarcity. Jesus is demonstrating that with God, there is more than we can ever ask for or imagine, and so we don't have to fear running out. In the miraculous feedings in the Gospels, there are baskets of leftovers as demonstrations of God's position on abundance. There is enough. There is more than enough. There are riches and wealth in God that exceed our need, and so we can let go of the fear that we might run out, because the resources we cling to aren't always the resources we truly need -- the grace and love of God that ultimately define us will not be extinguished or exhausted, and in giving we understand what it is like to live dependent on God. When asked, we can give thanks that we have anything to give, knowing that we have it only because God has given resources to us.
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