Blessed!

Blessed!

Acts 20:35 KJV

[35] I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Paul had worked hard before and after his conversion. He was known for diligence in study and application, and these attributes became tools in God's hands to advance the gospel of Christ to the Gentile world at the time. As a start point, what is that in your hand at the moment? What are the talents, gifts and endowments that you have that the world needs now? What is keeping you from using them for the glory of God and to further His work in the lives of men? I have to keep reminding myself that whatever I have been given is for a reason and a season, and when the time is right, an accounting will be demanded of what I have done with all I was given. You do not want to stand before the Lord with a waste of His investment in you. An additional reflection from the verse above was the exemplary life of Paul. He would not just say it, but he would also match his walk with his talk.

That is the confidence of the first part of the verse above. He not also said it; he showed it by personal example. Do not be quick to make promises, but let your life's pursuits and priorities show where your allegiances lay. I also note that one of the purposes behind the labour of Paul was to be a blessing to other people. Too many times, our pursuits are more about self-promotion and not the exaltation of Jesus. We want to be wealthy and influential, and, whilst there is nothing wrong with this, what is the end purpose of the acquisitions? Is it just for the sake of calculating personal networth, or to build a network where lives are touched and impacted by that which you hold? Why do you labour: to just be seen to have made it, or to find a way to be a blessing to other people? Do I just want to be defined only by what I have, with no regard of lives that my being has been beneficial to?

It is only in Christ that a life can be blessed for what s/he gives, and not what is received. The world teaches the opposite, and men who are subject to the dictates of the world keep running, not even sure where they are going, but running all the same. Think of this: being blessed by God is such a wonderful thing. You never lack what the world needs; you always have what someone around you needs: may be a word in season; a shoulder to cry on; strength to rely on when the world around seems to be falling to pieces. At some point in time, value will be defined by touch, not by currency. A time will come when money alone will not solve the problem. I must focus on that which is in the mind of Christ, so that I can enjoy all that He promises. I cannot make a demand on that which I am not entitled to based on my current position or attitude. If I have to make a change, so be it. May the Lord help me to be relevant in this generation. God's time of favour is here.