Spread the Grace
A scientist put a small tree into an airtight container. Into that container, he also put a mouse. The mouse didn't know what the experiment was about, but he did realize that the container was airtight. The mouse panicked, knowing that the air in the container would not last forever. With every breath, he was releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, which would eventually poison him. The mouse determined that he would keep as much air as he could in his lungs, so he stopped breathing. Within seconds, he passed out. Again, he held his breath, and again he passed out, resuming his breathing upon fallin unconscious. Three days passed. The mouse was surprised to find that he was neither dead, nor even uncomfortable. By breathing, he had supplied the tree with the gasses it needed to survive. The tree had in turn supplied him with oxygen. By trying to keep his limited oxygen supply in his lungs, the mouse hurt only himself. By letting his breath out, he not only kept the tree alive, but received what he needed in return.
Who here likes to drive? I assume we all know what you must do to keep a car running for more than a few hours. You must put gas into the gas tank. Now the price of gas is pretty steep these days. It's a precious comodity, and you want to conserve it. Let's say I took a trip from Julesburg to Phoenix. That's about a thousand miles. to conserve fule, I take the shortest possible route and I never get off the freeway. How far am I going to get? probably not much further than the New Mexico border. That kind of conservation does me no good because it depletes my fuel without ever replacing it. That's useless for any car. I have to pull off once in a while and refuel. I can't hang on to that fuel in the tank.
That sounds like a pretty commonsense thing, doesn't it? In the physical realm, hoarding leads to shortage. But many Christians don't understand that the same principle applies to spiritual things. When we hurt, we want to grab on to God's grace and hold it in. I've seen it on an all-too-frequent basis. They refuse to minister to others, and so they not only deprive others of grace, but themselves as well. There is a commonly held notion that once we get better, then comes the time to minister. This is a really bad idea. It is like waiting until you are stronger to exercise, or refusing to go into the shower because you're not clean enough. The one who insists on holding his supply of grace in is like the mouse who refuses to breathe.
Consider the parable of the cheating steward. Many people are confused by this, because they think that Jesus is praising theft. What he's saying is that instead of keeping what you have been entrusted with to yourself, it is better to share it and in doing so, make friends. Those friends will remember your kindness and return it when times are tough for you.
God's grace is not meant to stop with its recipient. Imagine yourself as a lawn sprinkler. Now a sprinkler depends on water to work. Without water, it becomes inert. Knowing this, you plug all your holes to keep the water in. Ah, but a sprinkler depends not just on water, but on FLOWING water. It is not meant to hold water in. It is meant to distribute water all over the grass and garden plants. But if you shed all of your water, isn't there the threat of going dry? Not at all. You are hooked up to a hose. That hose connects you to the city water supply. The pipes of the city are supplied by a water tower, which is always full.
God is your water tower. His grace is in infinite supply. If we shed what we have by sharing it with others, we simply pull more from God as a matter of course. The more gracious we are to others, the more grace he will lavish upon us.
We are not meant to horde grace. A sprinkler that tries to hold its water in will explode. A Christian who insists on having his own needs addressed before he will minister to others will shrivel and die.
Let me give you two practical examples. Two women in a church are recently widowed. One immediately becomes a recluse during her grief. The other fills her now empty time praying, visiting and fixing meals for the poor. The first widow dwells on her pain. Instead of dissipating, it grows. She becomes increasingly grumpy. She shuns human company and no one misses her because she's become a miserable companion. Her lonliness increases. She blames God for the death of her husband and stops going to church. For the rest of her life, she's an angry, pathetic wretch. The other woman is dwelling on the needs of others, and so does not think about her own loss. She takes joy in what she does and builds up her friendships. While she is sad that her beloved is gone, she does not hold on to the pain, and it quickly softens and dulls until her memories of him bring happiness. Her friends care for her needs, and in return for her work, God rewards her richly. Looking forward to Heaven, she pursues an ever deeper relationship with God and falls more in love with Him every day. Her life is filled with gladness.
In this congregation, we have a lot of people with troubles. Many of you have been hurt and are waiting to stop hurting before you do anything for others. I emplore those of you with such pain to be like the happy widow. Don't concentrate on yourself, but live to love others, just as Christ did. In doing so, you will find that the grace you share will return to you, and things will be better.
If anyone reading this sermon has not accepted Christ as savior, you're not hooked up to the water tower. But the good news is, all you have to do is go to God and ask for salvation. You don't have to do anything else. You don't have to be good enough, just like you don't need to be clean before taking a bath. God will do all of the cleansing and pour out His grace into you if you but seek Him out and ask.
Today's reading: Ecclesiastes 11:1,2; Luke 16:1-9
11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
