How to Reimburse God

I spent $105 of my own money last week at work for some promo materials.  I needed to be reimbursed, and I was. 

Have you ever needed to reimburse someone for floating you a loan, jump-starting your career, or giving you a leg up?

Haven’t we all. 

And there stands God.  Perhaps He has redeemed you from a life of despair.  Maybe He has given you a second and third and even a forth chance to get life right.

And then our thoughts turn to reimbursement and repayment.

How do you pay back God?

This may help.  Ephesians 2:8-9 talks about being “saved through trust in Christ Jesus.  And even trust is not within us; it too is a gift from God.”

So, God keeps giving, and so far, we’ve made no payment, no attempt to reimburse Him.  You mean the ability to trust is itself a gift from God?

Max Lucado helps me here.  From his book In the Grip of Grace, we read this: “God does what we cannot do so we can be what we dare not dream: perfect before God.”

But perfection comes with a price tag, doesn’t it? 

~The perfect body comes at the expense of a gym membership and a weekly commitment to exercise.

~A great singer pays the price of expensive lessons and hours upon hours of practice.

~The CEO pays the price of grunt work, and working his/her way up the chain of command by putting in long hours, eating the dust of those who have gone before, and doing the mundane so that one fine day they could be THE BOSS.

We are accustomed to paying.  We pay for groceries, clothes, entertainment.  Why not pay God back for some of his charity and a few blessings along the way?

And so, we think we must work at this God thing – teach a class, give money, paint the church fence, sit in a pew, sing the songs, look pious, sound pious, act pious, be pious, feed the homeless, visit the sick.  Surely God is impressed when we do those things. 

Surely, somewhere in all those works some salvation can be found.  Surely, we are paying God back for some of His benevolence.  Surely, we are earning our place in heaven.  Surely?

Again, Ephesians speaks: “Salvation does not come by works, so that no one can boast.”

So, how to I reimburse God?

I receive the gift.  I ask for His invasion into our heart, and receive it, regardless of how good or bad, pretty or ugly, able-bodied or crippled, rich or poor we may be.  I receive.

And then, I do what Matthew 10:8 says – “Freely have you received … then freely give.”

It’s done in that great spirit of love.  I have been loved into the kingdom, and so I reach out in love, using the gifts I have, offering a cup of cold water, offering a piece of bread, offering a word of hope, giving a couple of bucks to a needy one.

I reimburse God by giving to others in love.

That is a strange way to do business, but it is God’s way.

Internet Church Blog Site

Hope Encouragement Inspiration