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week 6... the grand finale

The grand finale.
Well, I was hoping for one but I’m not so sure this is it.

This post is a little late because I couldn’t decide what to do for this week…..
I kept waiting….

I was hoping for a big fat check to land in my mailbox.
So that I could be faithful and give away half.
And of course go skiing with the rest.

But no big fat check came.

Turns out I have to give away what I already have.
Because that was what it was really all about any ways.

I also toyed with the idea of giving away half of what is in my savings account, or checking account, or something else big and substantial and impressive.

But that isn’t where I have ended up.
Instead I’m not giving away much.
But I’m hoping you will.

In front of me is a short stack of 10$ bills.
All crisp and new and fresh and straight from the ATM.

But these bills are marked.
In Sharpie across the front is this verse:

“For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory.” Romans 11:36a

Because all these things I have been giving away, weren’t really mine to begin with.

When something isn’t yours, you treat if differently.
Usually better.
When I borrow a book I am careful with it and treat it much better than one I actually own.
I try not to dog ear the corners or leave it laying around or let Tess rip out the pages.
Because I want to be able to return it in okay condition.

So I am trying to think about all these things I have and the numbers in my bank account like they really are.
Not mine.

A gift. Or on loan.
And I have to ask myself a really tough question…
"Are the things I own being used in any capacity for his glory?"

Would I treat my stuff differently if I saw it as God’s instead of my own hard earned paycheck?

Something tells me Jesus didn’t have a storage unit somewhere filled with all his extra robes and wedding presents.
(and for the record neither do I, but…..I could easily fill one).

So back to the 10$.
The idea came from a few places…
Sometime last fall my friend Tina posted about this thing called the 10$ blessing which was essentially to stick a 10$ bill in your wallet, pray for an opportunity and dole it out whenever one shows up.
And secondly, from reading in a book about a man who had received a 100$ bill from Shane Claiborne (read about it here…but the book was This Beautiful Mess: Practicing the Presence of the Kingdom of God by Rick Mckinley). How special this money was and how he knew he needed to use it for good….because Shane is one of the poorest guys he knew…and well because this money was marked. Each bill had the word “love” written on it.
So I’ll be mailing out my 10$ bills. Not as many as Shane.
And they are also marked.
But they don’t come with any kind of instructions.
That part it is up to you.

And if no money shows up in your mailbox in the next few days.
Don't be dissapointed. Instead, get out a sharpie and mark your own.

Comments

Sarah said…
M-

awesome. please, please, please, print out this series in a little pamphlet. it's so good!
michelle said…
yes! pamphlets... and i will pass it out in parking lots and ask people if they jesus as there lord and savior.
ha!

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