Nov 11,2018             Faith and Abundance                                     

Twenty years ago, the Illinois Conference had an associate minister for Evangelism and Stewardship named Bob Scheiler, and when he would come and preach at churches, he would ask the following questions.

Who has more energy, the couch potato who sits on their sofa, or the person who goes out an regularly exercizes? Who has more time, the person who sits and watches the minutes tick by, or the person who goes out and gets things done? Who has more knowledge, the student who crams the night before an exam, or the one who studies daily? Who has more money, the mizer who tries to hold on to every last penny, or the person who goes out an invests their money so they can make more? And his final question would be, who has more faith, someone who believes in God but does nothing about that belief, or someone who believes in God, and goes out and changes the world?

The simple point of these questions was to point out, life is found not in hoarding to ourselves all that we have, but in giving of ourselves, investing ourselves, spending ourselves, so that we might receive more than we give. Because, Bob Scheiler would say, the world tells us that there is never enough for all, that we must hold fast to everything we have, and that giving of ourselves leads to poverty and death. But God says, that through faith, there is enough for all, that we can give of ourselves, and that in giving of ourselves there is life!

The Bible has numerous stories of those who through faith gave of themselves and found life. This morning, widow of Nain, believing that she and her son will starve to death, agrees to feed the prophet Elijah, and miraculously, her food never runs out. We all know the story of Jesus telling his disciples to feed the five thousand, but all they have is five loaves and two fish, yet this is enough for all with twelve baskets left over. We all know the story of the servants given talents, those servants who invest their talents are welcomed into the kingdom of heaven, and the one servant who buries his gift, ends up in darkness. And our gospel lesson this morning, speaks of the widow, who puts in all that she has, trusting that God will take care of her, perhaps because through her faith, she knows that God has taken care of her many, many a time already.

How many of us, in our times of need, when all seems lost, when we stopped relying on ourselves alone, have found that God has provided us with family, friends, and opportunities a plenty to get going again. I myself like the saying, when the world closes a door, God opens a window. At least that’s how I like to think of it. And numerous times in my life, that’s how I have experienced it. Through faith, there is abundance and there is life! 

I’ve often told people the story of a parishioner in Smithton IL, who was laid off from his construction job. When I went by to see him, I expected him to be down, he had a mortgage, a year old truck with payments, a daughter in college, and two sons about to go to college. I thought he must be worried out of his mind how he would get through this. When I asked him about this, he said, “Pastor, this is not the first time I have been through this, God saw me through the last time, and God will see me through this time.” And sure enough, this 300 plus pound, rough, tough construction worker, found a way to go to auctions, and sell teacups and china on ebay, to make enough money till he got called back to work.

The Rev. Dr. Douglas Meeks, my systematics professor, wrote a book called God the Economist. In it, he writes about how through faith, we come to find that the world is filled with an abundance that never runs out, that through faith we are satisfied with all that we have been given, and through faith we are empowered to give freely of ourselves to the work of the church, to spread the gospel to all the world, and make the world a better place for all.

And that’s the Good news of Jesus Christ!