…Jesus himself connected generous giving to one’s citizenship in the Kingdom of God.
Luke 12:29-34 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
In Scripture, the heart represents the center of one’s being and one’s deepest desires, including one’s reason, convictions, emotions, and will. The disposition, the inclinations, of one’s heart is reflected in the things that one values most.
So if a man could put his “heart” under a microscope, it wouldn’t require but the most minimally observant person to determine whether the man valued the Kingdom of God or not. The observer would merely consider how the man spent his money, for the placement of his money would also be location of his desires, his convictions, his pursuits.
As God has given us Jesus Christ and the kingdom, so are we to pour back out to God’s purposes out of our abundance received in Christ. We are not to be storage bins of accumulated wealth, as though wealth flows in, accumulates, but never flows on. Rather, we are more a river channel whereby God’s own abundance flows through us.
