Pastors E-Letter 10/23/20
Back in August, during our “Launch into Extraordinary Love” series, we talked about the lifelong process of intentional spiritual growth that leads us to grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus. Now, for the last 3 weeks, we have again been talking about spiritual growth as we think about growing in our generosity as an expression of our gratitude. Our whole “Taking the Next Step in Gratitude” generosity campaign is aimed at encouraging all of us to see our earning, saving, spending, and giving through the eyes of God. The goal is to enable our hearts to become more and more centered on God, more focused on the things that really matter in life and more free to celebrate the amazing gifts of God by giving a significant, planned portion of those gifts back to God and to causes that enable God’s ongoing Kingdom work in the world.
A line from Adam Hamilton’s book, “Enough” has been stuck in my head ever since I read it. It is a subtitle in the 4th chapter of the book, and it reads, “Created to give, tempted to keep.” God created us in God’s own image which means that God created us with the willingness to give as a way of reflecting the extravagantly generous character of God. But the problem is that we struggle against that impulse. We are afraid if we give, there may not be enough left over for us. We also struggle with self-gratification, worrying that if we give, we might not have enough left over to enjoy all the “things” we want to enjoy in life.
Which is why growing in gratitude and generosity is such an important part of our spiritual growth. As we center ourselves in gratitude for all of God’s gifts, we realize that what matters most in our lives has very little to do with the stuff that we sometimes think we need. Likewise, as we center ourselves in gratitude, we discover peace and contentment with all that God has already given to us. Finally, as we center our hearts in gratitude, we want to say thank you to God and generosity follows. We want to express our gratitude to God and to reflect God’s generosity in our own generosity. We want to use God’s gifts in ways that make a lasting, eternal difference. In the process, we become more and more, the generous, open handed persons God intends for us to be. We become less anxious, more content, and finally more joyful. I guess you could say that the cycle of generosity begins in gratitude and ends in freedom and joy which is what Paul was saying when he said, “God loves a cheerful giver.”
This Sunday in worship, we will be celebrating our Take the Next Step in Gratitude Sunday. Our intention throughout this series has been to celebrate and give thanks for all that God has done and is doing in us as individuals and through Suntree UMC. In all the challenges we have faced over the last 8 months, we wanted to say, “Look at what God has done! And look at what God has done through your generosity!” We have so much to celebrate and so much over which to give thanks. The only questions that remain are, “How will we continue to thank God for all of God’s gifts and blessings? How will each of us honor and glorify God?” This Sunday is about answering those questions along with the one that we have invited you to pray daily, “God, where do you want me to be in my giving?” Your answer is between you and God. It is a deeply spiritual question with profound implications for each of our lives.
I hope between now and Sunday you will continue to pray over these questions and that you will join us in worship as we celebrate God’s amazing work among us and seek to answer those questions as we fill out our estimate of giving cards. Most of all, I pray we will each know the deep joy, freedom and contentment that flows from a grateful and generous heart.
Grace and Peace,
Annette