Mark 10:21 “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven;..””
Our heavenly Father’s love for us is so great that in His divine desire for us to bear His perfect image, He (Jehovah Jireh- God our Provider) has made it possible for us to portray even this personality trait – His “generosity in giving”, by ensuring that ,through His grace, we always have more than sufficient in all things so that we can use the surplus to provide for the needy and for other good works (2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”)
To sell our great possessions (the abundance) is to show our willful dependence on God for our future needs with our heart, soul and mind (that’s the only way to love Him) and to give alms to the poor is to love another as we love ourselves. Together this fulfills the requirements of the new commandment given to us.(Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’“) God promises that when we put our trust in the Provider and not His provision, He gives us not just enough to cover our impending necessities and but so much more that it will overflow into an excess which He then requires us to use for giving others (1 Timothy 6:17-18 “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share”)
When we learn to share our super-abundance with others, we learn to be content in our lives with Christ and to relinquish covetousness against which our Lord has warned us (Luke 12:15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”) A contented lifestyle that includes providing for the lesser-privileged with our possessions banks our treasures in the heavenly places, which are imperishable and eternal (Luke 12:33 “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.”)
It is very important to remember that storing up excess provision is never according to God’s plan but according to man’s greed (1 Timothy 6:6-7 “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.”). He always intends for us to have sufficient, no more and no less (Exodus 16:18 “ But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack…”)
Therefore let us learn to satisfy our souls with what we need and not hoard the abundance that is given to us, but use it to bless others, for therein are we rich towards God.
God Bless.
bloodvessel 