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Why We Do What We Do

                A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine, whom I will call “Shady Shane” (because that is what I always call him) and another guy won the 50/50 draw at the Bruins hockey game.  When they won, they shouted, laughed and then took off to claim their prize.
                Four nights later, Shane texted me and said, “I am in front of your house.  Meet me at the door.  I have something for you”. 
When I opened the door, Shane was standing there with a card in his hand and he said, “I wanted you to have this!”  I took the card, opened it and found some money inside.
Right away, I said to him, “Shady, I don’t want your money!  I will keep the card.  That is really nice, but I don’t need the cash!”  He insisted!  I argued with him a little more, but when it became clear that he was not taking the money back, I thanked him and he took off.
Now, what happened here? 
Shane did not give me that money because he is nice – though he is!   
Shane did not give me that money because I am nice – though I am! 
He was under no obligation to give me anything, so why did he do it this time?
In his words: “I was given something I did not expect or deserve and I wanted to share it with you!”  
To me, that is a perfect parable to explain the motivation that Christians ought to possess:  We have been blessed, therefore, we bless others.
We do not work for God because we are good.  If everything rests on my “niceness”, not much is going to get done.   We do not work because other people deserve it.  If the mission comes down to blessing those who are worthy, that list will be very short (and – incidentally – I will not be on it!). 
We give simply because something has been given to us.
“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
Shane’s card now sits on my desk as a reminder, not only of his generosity, but also of the reason we go.
“Freely you have received; freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

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