God’s Gracious Gifts

“Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. ‘Who are these with you?’ he asked. Jacob answered, ‘They are the children God has graciously given your servant.’” Genesis 33:5

In the book “Jesus & Money”, Ben Witherington III writes: “The biblical theology of creation is a negation of theories of private” property and “public” property, our theories of individual ownership and collective or governmental ownership.

The biblical view is that only God is the owner of the universe, because God created and fashioned it in the first place, and then loaned it to us to use properly.

One of the practical implications of this theological outlook is that one must always ask questions about any use of material things, such as:

Is this what God intended for us to do with this material?

Will this use reflect good stewardship of God’s resources?
Will this or that use of property or money glorify God and edify people?

…One of the saddest and least biblical corollaries of the theory of private property is the notion of charity-

The basic assumption behind the concept of charity is “what’s mine is mine, and if I share it with you, I am being charitable or generous as if sharing the wealth is optional. But alas for such ideas, the Bible is replete with commandments, not mere suggestions, about giving to others, taking care of the poor, sacrificing for others, and so on.”

Children are a precious gift of the Lord. Thank the Lord for the children in your life.

Children are our most valuable natural resource.

“Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.” – Psalm 127:3