Written by Guest Contributor, Luke Spiegelhoff | April 11, 2024
Our culture often focuses on acquiring things as a scorecard to compare ourselves with others. Just climb the ladder and grab the brass ring! The media is filled with messages like, “Fill your life with ______; you deserve it. You have earned it.”
The Apostle Paul, however, provides a countercultural view: “Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).
Jesus, dying for our sins, made us rich beyond measure. The power of this opened redemption for the damned. Beauty from suffering. Mercy for the unworthy. Take in the magnitude of what Christ did. There is nothing that he cannot redeem. We are broken people with broken lives. Yet those experiences offer us the chance to tell the story of what Christ has done for us.
Many of us struggle to share the hard things that have happened to us: divorce, abuse, mental health problems, chemical abuse, self-loathing, adultery, lying, cheating, etc. Yet God can use even these experiences and redeem them for his purposes. We have all sinned and fallen short. Despite all we have done to try to separate us from God, he has poured riches out upon us through his grace and mercy.
What God gave us through his Son had nothing to do with money, yet we are rich. I would encourage you to think creatively about what you can offer others. Because we are made in His image, we can reflect our Creator to others in what we do and say. This costs nothing but means everything.
You have a story to tell about God’s generosity in your life and how you reflect that generosity to others. So much of what we can offer has absolutely nothing to do with what the culture defines as being rich. In Acts Chapter 3, Peter healed the lame man, saying, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” We may not have the gift of healing like Peter, but we have been freely given gifts through the Spirit that can change lives.
Be generous: generous with your time, generous with sharing your story, generous with caring for others, generous with telling others that you were lost and now are found.
God takes your brokenness and makes it beautiful. Doesn’t the world need to hear that as well?
Bio:
Luke Spiegelhoff is an almost 60-year-old version of his former self. He is happily married to Gail for the last 27 years with four kids and seven grandchildren. Now located in the Twin Cities Minnesota, he cannot hide his Wisconsin roots as he endures the slings and arrows of the Viking fans around him. When not helping to build therapy programs in his current role, he loves to camp, jog, and generally be outdoors. With a passion for helping others, he volunteers at a local family homeless shelter and his local church. He can often be found quoting from Napoleon Dynamite and Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? and other classics of modern cinematography.
