Freely you have received, freely give.
Matthew 10:8
I was recently asked by a co-worker for a short definition of faith, and an acroymn I had learned as a child came to mind. Forsaking-All-I–Trust-Him. We discussed many verses as we talked for a few minutes. We talked about faith being the gift of God (Eph 2:8) and necessary to please Him (Heb 11:6). We discussed how it is the substance of things hope for and the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1). But what I’ve really come to appreciate about the acronym as I’ve grown in the Lord is that it makes one thing very clear. The object of true faith is God alone. True faith forsakes every other option. It puts all it’s eggs in one basket. It simply trusts God!
What this co-worker told me the next day was that she had shared the acronymn with several others. As I considered how this simple definition was blessing others the way it had blessed me, I was reminded that when we give out what God gives us, He multiplies it and does far more than we ever imagined. He’ll take your few loaves and couple of fishes and feed thousands! Whoever shared this meaning of faith with me as a child probably didn’t even think it made an impact! I’m not even sure I realized it had made an impression at the time, yet now, 30 years later, that bit of spiritual bread is still feeding others and being multiplied. We plant and water, but wow–how God gives the increase!
God does not expect that which is beyond our ability. When Christ came to the defense of the woman anointing Him with a costly ointment, He pointed out, “She has done what she could.” (Mk 14:8) He requires nothing more than that, but He also requires nothing less! He expects us to give out what we’ve been given! We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God (Rom 12:1). What do we have that we didn’t receive (1 Co 4:7)? Give out what God has given you today, no matter how small it seems. We never know how far one little word will go. God does big things with just a little. Freely we have received, freely give!
Jamie