Freedom and Giving

I received the following email (see end of post) from a good friend of mine and mentor today. My email inbox also had a  notification about the starvation in Somalia. It makes me think that there is always a need to think beyond our own needs and concerns. So often we can get caught up in issues that are indeed difficult and challenging yet I think Christians are called to look beyond our own needs to the needs of others.

The love of God actually frees us from selfishness to selflessness. We are freed because we know that we are loved and that God's love reaches into our daily needs. We are taught to pray "give us this day our daily bread". Praying this helps us to see God's gift for daily bread as well as calls us to be vehicles for daily bread for others. It is a prayer for a community where sharing is the norm and not the exception. In this community we come to learn that in God's kingdom there is always enough and that living in the kingdom means both giving and receiving; blessing and being blessed. We realize that God is a providential God. It is ultimately God who provides all good gifts. Through prayer we are given eyes to see how God provides in our own lives and how God wants to use us to provide for others. All of this is done freely because we are loved by  God in Christ and this love overflows into love for our neighbor. The economy of God is truly brilliant.

One of the ways to express this freedom and love is to give of ourselves, our time and our possessions. This is a concrete expression of love and care in others lives. Knowing that we are responding to God's love and being loving is a reward in and of itself. We don't have to demand anything from the one who receives the gift, we can give it freely just as it was freely given to us.

May God us me and you so that many may know His love and care. Amen.

Below is the email I received.

Friends in Christ,

I (Pastor Fecher) received the following communication from SHARE. If the closing actually happens some of our loved ones will be shelterless. We will want to pray about how to respond. Maybe we can pray along with this scriptural admonition from James 2:15-16 "If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food,  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?"

The note from SHARE mentions attachments which I am not sending. You can join the SHARE Google Group and receive updates by going to this link:

http://groups.google.com/group/share-shelters-updates