GIVE ALL YOU CAN

John Wesley:
“Earn all you can; Save all you can; Give all you can”
This week: GIVE ALL YOU CAN…
3rd (and final) in Stewardship series on “Earn all you can, Save all you can, Give all you can”
Text: Matthew 19:16-23
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… “then, give all you can, or, in other words, give all you have to God. Do not stint yourself,… to this or that proportion. "Render unto God," not a tenth, not a third, not half, but all that is God's, be it more or less; by employing all on yourself, your household, the household of faith, and all mankind, in such a manner, that you may give a good account of your stewardship when ye can be no longer stewards;…”
(John Wesley, from Sermon #50 “On Money”, section on giving)
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Like most of Jesus’ stories in the Gospels, this one about the rich (young) man is open-ended. The narrator does not add, "and he lived unhappily ever after." We are free to wonder: did the rich man later accept his place as a disciple? How did he deal with Jesus pointing out this ‘burden’ in his life? We are not told…
But WE do have the opportunity to write our own story – we can decide how we respond and what we do…that’s how we LIVE out the calling of Jesus in our life! That’s why we GIVE.