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“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48b
The financial application of this verse is timely and relevant in light of #Giving2x2Tuesday and the encouragement to share end-of-year support with churches and nonprofit organizations. As a ministry, we are honored and humbled to be able to do what we do because of generous supporters like many of you. Thank you! And if you missed the #Giving2x2Tuesday opportunity, it is not too late to make a donation!
However, I have reflected upon other facets of the application of this verse—the spiritual ones. To extend a blessing to others is a declaration of our appreciation for the blessing we have received. What has been given to me I am called to give to others.
The forgiveness I give to others correlates to the Father’s forgiveness of me (Matt. 6:14-15). The grace with which we have been treated must be passed on to others (Matt. 18).
The compassion the Father has demonstrated by not treating me as my sins deserves inspires me to show compassion to others.
Yet if I neglect to recognize all that I have been given, I will be stingy in sharing it with others.
Who am I to judge who is deserving of blessings or not? Nevertheless, I identify with the older brother’s outrage and fall into the trap of thinking I deserve more (Luke 15:25-32). However, if it were dependent on merit or what we deserved... let’s just say I am so thankful it is not (Ps. 103:10-14)!
We are merely stewards of our blessings (Matt. 25:14-30) and when we share them with others, His light shines brighter (2 Cor. 4:5-7).
Why give?
We serve a God of abundance (2 Cor. 9:8-15). His blessings are limitless (Phil. 4:19). He gives generously to all (James 1:17). And we are blessed to be able to give from what we have been given, thus multiplying the blessings.
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5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
1 Corinthians 3:5-9
Iron Rose Sister Ministries, through the very image of our logo, and the application of the Common Threads, uses roses or plants to illustrate a point. Jesus Himself relied on many agricultural analogies, making His teaching personal and practical to His hearers. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul reminds the church members in Corinth that while one plants and another waters, it is always God who brings the growth.
I would like to borrow from another image in order to highlight and celebrate the parts that we, as a ministry, and each of you individually play in the big picture that the I AM has designed. We are participants as His handiwork (Eph. 2:10) as each one does its part (Eph. 4:16). We may never see the ripple effect of our impact (Heb. 11:39-40), but we can trust that God uses our piece in the puzzle to create a vivid tapestry, narrating and weaving a story of redemption and love.
As a ministry, and as Christian women, the I AM has invited us into other women’s lives to equip them to connect to Him and to one another more deeply. The equipping tools and encouragement that women receive through our resources empowers them in their own spiritual walks, but then, is later multiplied as they share those resources with others, who in turn share them with others... multiplying our efforts in ways that we will never fully know. And I love that!
When we lose track of the multiplied effect our piece of the puzzle has made, the I AM, who designed the big picture and brings about the growth, gets all the glory! It is no longer about what we have done, but rather about how He has taken our small part and done His thing, as only He can. And for that, I am grateful.
We are humbly grateful to be one piece of the puzzle. And when we cannot see the big picture, we trust the I AM to use and multiply our efforts for the larger impact in the kingdom.
In 2020, we will continue to explore what it means to obediently serve as one piece of the puzzle and to be part of the whole.
In the meantime, we invite you to be one piece of the puzzle through our end-of-year fundraising efforts, specifically through Giving 2x2 Tuesday, December 3, in which matching donations will multiply our financial efforts. Details on our Facebook page.