Who Owes You?

Luke 14:14 “And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”

Have you ever received a “free” gift, and all you had to do was listen to an hour sales pitch? Such was the case with a timeshare that we used on a weekend recently. It was “free,” but as soon as you entered the room, a flashing red light on the phone was waiting and blinking for you. On the other end of the line was a person who just so happened to want to invite you to a special presentation about . . . timeshares! With only a small king’s ransom, “you too could become a part!” I do not know about you, but I dislike the feeling that I owe someone something. I felt obligated to go and listen to that presentation, not because I wanted to, but because I felt like I was a cheapskate for taking this “free” weekend and not paying back with a little of my time!

Do you owe anybody today? Does anybody owe you today? The Lord Jesus said in Luke 14:13, “But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.” What do all these people have in common? “For they cannot recompense thee. . . .” (verse 14) They have no ability to repay! The Lord says you will be blessed, not because they will invite you in return or pay you back, but because “thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”

The Lord’s teaching in Luke 14 reminds us to consider God in our transactions of life. Consider God first of all in what you give. Many political groups can be very generous with their money, but their generosity comes with strings attached-they expect something in return. But God says in Proverbs 19:17, “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he [God] pay him again.” What an amazing verse! Would you ever claim that God owes you anything? Proverbs 19:17 says that God is the One who will pay you back. You can learn giving from some self-serving political machine or you can learn giving from God’s Word. Consider God in what you give.

Consider God in your transactions of life, not only in what you give, but also in what you receive. Literally thousands of people have been used by God over the years to provide what is here on the Bill Rice Ranch today. I say it that way, not to be pious, but to make a point: God is the One Who provided, and He used people to do so. I never want to be indebted to a person for some enormous gift he might give to the Ranch. You can spend the rest of your life trying to please every single benefactor; or you can consider God in your transactions of life, specifically in what you receive.

Deaf campers have always come free of charge to the Bill Rice Ranch. That was true for our first Deaf week in 1953, and that is true in 2009. Who owes us? I mean, who is going to pay back for the scores of Deaf who have come over the years? Remember Proverbs 19:17-“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord. . . .” Everything here at the Ranch is from a God Who provides for our every need. The same is true for you-consider God in your transactions today, both in what you give and what you receive.