the line

If therefore you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you? Luke 16:11

For the past two years, the Lord has taken me on a journey--a journey deeper into Himself. He took me through a season of testing and trial, and then He poured out His grace upon me in a way that was wondrous and glorious. This time has changed my perspective on many things, and has refined my perspective on some other things. But, perhaps the greatest change that has come about in my life is in the way that I see money--the unrighteous mammon of this world.

Now, this change has been somewhat of a surprise to me. Because, unlike many other people's experience, I have never had what you might call a "love of money." In fact, it would probably be more accurate to say that I had a "hate of money" and much of what it represented. But friends, though I believed that this hate was righteous, it really wasn't. I not only hated the money itself, I hated those whom I deemed were using money in an unrighteous fashion. Now, of course I would not say that I hated them, but in actuality, I did.

I believed that there was a line--a line between righteous spending and unrighteous spending. And though I knew that I was not fully on the righteous side, I did believe that I was generally in that category. And you know what? I thought that many others were not. I judged their hearts in a way that only God can do, and I made my agenda higher than God.

Friends, I still believe that there is a line. But, that line has much more to do with love than with a checklist of do's and don'ts. My focus has changed from judging what I think others should be doing, to being so very grateful that God has given me the resources to give generously. That line represents absolute and total joy in submitting to the Father's will for the money that He has given to me and how I can use it to help others.

He's given me so very much. Friends, He's also given you so very much. Now, please know that what I am about to say has nothing to do with judgment. I absolutely cannot know what you should do with the money and resources that God has given you. And honestly, I have given up judging others in this realm.

But friends, the fact is that people are starving. 20,000 children will die today for lack of food and water.

The fact is that there are 147 million orphans in the world. They have no parents and the ones who actually live in orphanages are the lucky ones.

The fact is that people are dying for their faith and are leaving behind wives and children who have no means of support.

I had to ask myself--Do I really need a new couch? We got the old one (which is a futon) years ago at a garage sale and it is not the most comfortable for elderly guests to sit on.

I had to ask myself--Are new cabinets necessary? They are ugly and dented.

But friends, they were fleeting questions, because I know the line that God has given to me. And that line has nothing to do with what I should do, and everything to do with love. It is such a joy to give, and if we buy those things, I would have nothing left to give. I love Jesus, and I want to use what He has given for His glory!

Dear ones, I am not saying that no one should buy a couch or get new cabinets. There are things that we have bought that we didn't need, because we thought that buying them was the most loving thing to do in that situation. There are also things that I have bought that I have regretted buying later on. We didn't need them, we only thought that we needed them.

But God is gracious and He keeps teaching me. He's not so concerned about our mistakes, but He does want us to move forward in love. I expect that some of the things that I think I need today, will no longer be needs 10 years from now. I'm immature. But, I am maturing. And I want to continue growing in Christ because I love Him so much.

And that's the point. It's all about love. It's all about His love that He wants to pour out on a lost and lonely world. And it is so much fun to take part in that sort of love!! There is a line. But, it's a line of love. Isn't that just like Jesus?! He's all about love, isn't He?!