Written by: John Sernaque
Stewardship
CCh - Counsels for the Church (1991) Chapter 48—Counsels on Stewardship
The spirit of liberality is the spirit of heaven. Christ’s self-sacrificing love is revealed upon the cross. That man might be saved, He gave all that He had and then gave Himself. The cross of Christ appeals to the benevolence of every follower of the blessed Saviour. The principle there illustrated is to give, give. This, carried out in actual benevolence and good works, is the true fruit of the Christian life. The principle of worldlings is to get, get, and thus they expect to secure happiness; but carried out in all its bearings, the fruit is misery and death. {CCh 272.1}
The light of the gospel shining from the cross of Christ rebukes selfishness and encourages liberality and benevolence. It should not be a lamented fact that there are increasing calls to give. God in His providence is calling His people out from their limited sphere of action, to enter upon greater enterprises. Unlimited effort is demanded at this time when moral darkness is covering the world. Many of God’s people are in danger of being ensnared by worldliness and covetousness. They should understand that it is His mercy that multiplies the demands for their means. Objects that call benevolence into action must be placed before them, or they cannot pattern after the character of the great Exemplar. {CCh 272.2}
As our great Exemplar, that man might be saved, Jesus gave all that He had, and then gave Himself. The principle to give is the true fruit of the Christian life. Now more than ever, is no time to hold back, as there are ever increasing calls to give. It is only by Gods’ mercy that we can obtain our means, so we must answer the increasing call to give. The world is covered in moral darkness, and it is our duty to return unto God that which He has entrusted to us as stewards of his treasury, that none should perish but have everlasting life. Jesus gave all, that we may be saved.
Our Father, God Almighty
We thank You once again for this privilege of being able to return unto You that which You have entrusted to us. As our great exemplar, our prayer is to be like You and give back all, that those living in moral darkness may be saved. May You bless our tithes and offerings to continue the work of salvation, and let the light of the gospel encourage liberality and benevolence. We thank You for everything that You do for us and will do for us and we thank You in advance for all the blessings You have in store for us. Save us and forgive us of our sins, and we thank You for giving us the victory over sin. We thank You and praise You, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.
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