Day 146: Lesson on Sharing

Romans 15:14-33; 1 Samuel 29-31; Psalm 71

Each of us have been given a certain role in God's kingdom, a certain ministry niche.  Paul's was to preach to the Gentiles who have never heard of Jesus.  For you or me, it may be to minister to the church, or to serve with children, or preaching to married couples, or ministering to an office.  Whatever it is, we need to be proud of where God has placed us and use everything we have to bring the love of Jesus there.  It's hard sometimes: maybe you don't know where you are supposed to serve, or if you do, you don't know how to be successful.  Either way, keep pursuing God and he will help.

David's men didn't want to share their winnings with those who had stayed behind.  This is a metaphor for grace and salvation.  Those people who experience difficulties and come out stronger and blessed, or pursue The Lord with all their hearts, can sometimes feel a certain authority or right to God's forgiveness.  Those people who maybe don't pursue God or don't experience struggles, can be seen as second-class citizens.  It doesn't matter how much a person follows God--our salvation and forgiveness is not based on our actions, but on the mercy of The Lord who wants to give eternal life to everyone.  As Christians it can be hard to accept that some people aren't going to work very hard for the kingdom and yet still receive the fullness of Jesus' love.  That's just how generous God is.

About 13 times in this psalm, a word that has to do with telling others or praising God is used.  The psalmist using these words so often, that I can't help but feel that I need to do certain things more often:  tell people about Jesus and praise The Lord Almighty.  It says that God has made him suffer (in order to prune out the sin and grow better stuff), but that God gives new life.  That is something to celebrate and to share!  I hope that no matter what, we are able to praise God despite our circumstances and that we would tell others about who The Lord is.