To Encourage You

Hebrews 13:15-16 (NKJV) “Therefore . . .  let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.  But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased .”

One of the hardest things to teach a little child is to share the things he or she has been given.  How often have you seen selfishness in these little ones?  It seems to come so naturally to them, wouldn’t you say?  But you know what? As we grow older, this selfishness has an awful tendency to hang on to us.  Otherwise, the Lord wouldn’t have warned us of it so many times in His Word.  It’s something we should think about as we enter various holiday seasons, times where we are reminded each year to offer thanksgiving and to love one another as we give one another gifts.  But these things shouldn’t be relegated to a few days or weeks of the year. In 1 Corinthians 4:7 we are asked the question, “What do you have that you did not receive?”  It’s a rhetorical question to which the obvious answer is “nothing.”  

We all, as we enter this world as little children, bring nothing into this world with us.  Everything we ever have is something that’s been given to us.  So, you might say, “I worked for what I have! I earned it!” And to this the Bible replies, “You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18).  Everything, our possessions, our homes, our children, our spouses, our physical abilities and talents, all of them are gifts from God.  As a result, what should our attitude be about these things?  

Well, in the verse above from Hebrews 13 we are told that we should always have an attitude of thanksgiving.  It’s an admonition that we find often in the Scriptures.  Other examples include “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34); “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2); “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18); and “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High” (Psalm 50:14). 

But beyond the giving of thanks, God has told us to share.  As the verses above from Hebrews 13 tell us, this may be a sacrifice, but it’s a sacrifice in more than one way. It’s a sacrifice in the sense that it is a giving away of something we might have otherwise kept and used for ourselves. However, in the sense of this passage, it’s a sacrifice as an offering of that gift back to the God from Whom it all came in the first place. And so that car we drive – how would God have us to use it to benefit others?  Our home – are we given to hospitality in our thanks to God for it?  Our finances – how much of it do we share with others in need?  Our physical and spiritual gifts – are we using them to benefit those whom God has placed in our lives?  And beyond such concrete physical things, God would have us to share even more.  For example, has God brought you through any recent trials? Has He given you the strength to endure? If so, are you thankful?  And if you ARE thankful, is that the end of the story, or is there a way in which you can even share God’s gracious provision in that trial in whatever form it came.  Listen to Paul’s words as to what happened in his life: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.  If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.  Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3-7).  Notice how the word “share” occurs four times in this passage.  

And one other thing; do you realize that if you are a believer, you are one because someone first shared with you the gospel message that they had received. Are you, in turn, sharing that wonderful life-saving message with others? May God give us a heart of thanksgiving. But beyond this, may God help us to have the wherewithal to share, and thereby offer a sacrifice to our great gift-giving God.