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Friends United Meeting |
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March 2005
The Passion and the Sacrifice
Paul Smith
“And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.”
Mark 10:21-22 (RSV)
Imagine with me what might have happened next. It was dark and in his sadness this rich man took a short-cut home. He was confronted by a robber, “Give me your money or your life.” The rich man could have responded, “It doesn’t make any difference, money is my life!”
It is easy to judge and make up a humorous story about this situation because I am sure most of us don’t consider ourselves rich. No doubt if we were asked by Christ to “sell what we have and give to the poor” as a condition of serving our Lord, we would barely hesitate. Wouldn’t we? We are not rich, are we?
The defining of “rich” becomes the question and that is a matter of culture, context and comparison. Compared to Bill Gates, I am not rich. Compared to the financial resources of most of my friends, I am not rich. In the context of my tax fi ling, I would be middle class (non-poor). If I view my culture through the eyes of the advertising media, I am not rich. I think these comparisons would apply to most of us, so we would reply to Christ, “We don’t have any great possessions.” But, “rich” is not defined by culture, context or comparison. For the followers of Christ, Christ defines in the Gospels what it means to be rich, and the definition goes far beyond culture, context and comparison. Christ looks at all of his people throughout the world, and moves the meaning of rich from the pocketbook to the heart.
Being rich is not a matter of having great possessions. Rather it is a matter of taking more than we need; it is a matter of giving a part of what we have, whether it is money, time or talent. Still, it is more than giving; it is a matter of loving and all else will follow — loving that fl ows from a passion to be Christ’s presence and witness in the 21st century It is that passion and presence that define rich. Yes, we are all rich and we are called to reorder the importance of our great possessions, putting Christ and serving the poor fi rst. We share our wealth by responding to our neighbor’s needs. Our response can be financial or a caring presence. Remember, Christ makes it clear to us where we will find Him and who our neighbors are.
What if the rich man had responded to Christ’s love and call — sold all he had, gave the bounty to the poor and followed Christ? He would have left with a glad heart rather than a sad heart. Now, when confronted by the robber his response might have been, “I don’t have any great wealth, I have given it to the poor, I have given my life to Christ. Mr. Robber, follow me as I follow Christ.”
There are times when we have a loving passion to give to others in addition to our neighbors — to reach into the other parts of our world. We can respond to that call by sending a witness in our place through the financial support of our Monthly Meetings, Yearly Meetings and Friends United Meeting, along with our prayers.
On a regular basis, we receive at Friends United Meeting a donation of one dollar, to be “used where most needed.” All donations to the ministries of Friends United Meeting are appreciated and welcomed. But none touch the hearts of staff like that one-dollar gift. We know that dollar is not given out of excess funds, but represents sacrificial giving. That gift brings encouragement and inspiration to staff. It’s not the size of the gift; it is the passion behind the gift and the sacrifice.
Yes, we all have great possessions when we commit what we have into the service of Christ. I encourage each reader to seek the counsel of Christ in the stewardship of his or her possessions. Multiple ministry opportunities at Friends United Meeting are available for you to reach into other parts of our world. Through Friends Extension Corporation, you can earn a competitive rate on your investment and support the loan needs of meetings throughout our constituency.
The Lord is affirming the vision of Friends United Meeting for evangelism, leadership training, global partnership and communication. The response from the church has been an affirmation. The response from inquirers and seekers has been an affirmation. It will take the response of “rich” folks throughout the church to bring this vision to reality. Pray about the need and contact any staff member at Friends United Meeting or Friends Extension Corporation to find out how you can support this vision.
Paul Smith is the Director of Financial Services for Friends United Meeting.