"Achiever or Receiver?"

Scripture Passage

Acts 14:21-28; Galatians 1-3:23

(Get it?  "Receiver?")

Scripture Focus

     Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. …After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?
     …I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. (Galatians 3:2-5 NLT)

Observation

My journaling was delayed this morning—perhaps providentially—because I’ve just read an article by Leonard Sweet on what he calls a “theology of receiving.” Sweet suggests that the modern church has it all wrong with regard to finances—that the question is not “What should I give?” but rather “What have I received?” That only after we’ve recognized God’s generosity and our privileged place as receivers will we truly be able to understand our role as “trustees of God’s resources” rather than “givers” from what we have (own). (Sweet does a much better job of articulating his position himself, of course. You can read it for yourself here.)

What’s that got to do with Galatians 3:2-5? Just this: Americans—at least, those from my Baby Boomer generation—are all about production…about what we have done and what we can do. We love to compare this month to last, and then this year to last…to compare our country to others, and my church to yours, and on and on it goes…all of it (ultimately) so that we can see what we’ve achieved.

I’m that way, at least. I want to grow the biggest church in Kansas. And since that likely won’t happen in Meriden (even if you include Ozawkie, Hoyt, Valley Falls, and Oskaloosa), I want to grow the biggest church in Jefferson County, then…or the biggest church among similar-sized communities in Kansas…or at least the biggest Assemblies of God church among Assemblies of God churches in similar-sized communities.

I make the list narrower and narrower until I can identify some level of achievement on my part that exceeds somebody else’s…until I can celebrate my performance as exemplary!

The point of Galatians 3:2-5 is that it just doesn’t work that way with God. He doesn’t get impressed when I come before Him with my list of achievements…with my “t’s” crossed and “i's” dotted and my forms all properly filled out. His heart is moved when I come before Him in faith—just like I did the first day we met…the first time I cried out, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13 KJV). That’s how I received to start with…and how I’ll receive today.

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