Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Randy Alcorn
First Loved Us
We should be clear about one thing. We don’t love God because we are special…we are special because God loved us, and we didn’t make the first move. God did. The Apostle John wrote “We love because he first loved us” (1st John 4:19). Jesus told the disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you” (John 15:16). The fact is, “there is no one who seeks God” (Rom 3:11), rather it is God Who seeks us.
Blessed to be a Blessing
God has blessed a friend of mine who happens to have the same name as I do, and this man is one of the most generous men I know. Since I am a bi-vocational pastor of a church so small they can’t pay me a salary, my friend watches over me to see if there’s anything he can do for me. He once saw that my front tires were nearly bald because I didn’t have the means to buy new ones, so this man paid for two new tires out of his own pocket and never told anyone about it, showing that he wants to be a blessing and give God the glory and not to be seen of men. What a precious friend and blessed giver.
Our Cup Runs Over
King David was a very generous man and few were like him in his day. He is also the author of the Messianic Psalm 23 where he wrote that God will “prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5). When a guest’s cup was continually being filled to the point of overflowing, it was sign that the host wanted them to stay as long as they liked. This is how God works. Our blessings are so many that our cups run over, meaning that our blessings will never end and we are invited to join God forever at the table of fellowship.
Giving Himself
The Apostle Paul shows that we cannot ever out give God because Jesus “gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time” (1st Tim 2:6), and He “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). There is no way any of us could ever out give God in this!
Conclusion
Randy Alcorn says, go ahead and try to out give God. You just can’t do it. You’ll find it’s impossible because He loved us long before we ever loved Him; He blesses us by means of other people (like my friend); our cup is so full of blessings that it’s running over, and finally, He gave the most so that we would be spared from the wrath of God and to be in His presence for time without end.
