City Life Starter

Written by Efe Abbe

The Word

The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, 

The world, and those who live in it.

Psalm 24:1 (NASB)

Reflection

I used to teach preschoolers. 

In one week something changed. One of my classes with the really little ones, kids who had been content to play together started to lob the word mine like grenades at each other as they hedged toys from one another. Never mind that these were community toys that each of them was equally entitled to, or that there were plenty of other toys when two (or more!) kids just had to have a specific toy. 

We adults aren’t different from those little ones in my old classroom, we sometimes act like sharing with others means we will go without. In those moments, the Psalmist calls us to return to reality – everything we are and all we have access to truly belongs to God. The biblical perspective is that we are caretakers of what we have been given and God invites us to trust His goodness to live generously with each other.

Application

When we read the verse in Psalm 24, the truth is that generosity isn’t always our default. 

So what are we to do?

We own up to our selfishness before God and because of Jesus, He doesn’t treat us like we deserve. He gave His most precious Son to live, suffer, die, and be raised for us – the opposite of what we ought to receive from God for spurning His generosity. Through the Holy Spirit’s conviction and power, we experience the extreme generosity of God in Christ – this then sets us free to change how we think and act to live generously.

Prayer

Thank You Father God for giving us everything – our lives, the people we live with, and the things we enjoy. Thank You for giving Your Son Jesus to restore us to You even when we forget Your generosity. Please help us remember that we belong to You. Amen.