Dear Fellow Children of God,
If you are like me your permanent fund check has arrived,
or soon will. Alaska is truly unique as the
only state with such an “oil royalty check.”
Perhaps you have had the same experience I have had when people from
other states bring up the topic of the Permanent Fund. Some can’t believe the Permanent Fund is for
real. Others are willing to move to
Alaska for that check, even though the amount of the dividend does not cover
the difference in the cost of living in Alaska when compared to the cost of
living “outside,” in the continental U.S.
Nevertheless, Alaska’s constitution shows unique wisdom
when it states that “the resources of Alaska belong to the people of
Alaska.” This dividend really is a gift,
in more ways than one. To paraphrase the
wisdom of long time St. John member, June Liebing, “We didn’t work for the check.
We didn’t earn it. The oil that
provides the funds for the check was put in the ground at creation by our
Lord. So, the permanent fund is a gift
from the Creator Himself.” That is
what June believed and shared. I personally
believe June is right.
The
Permanent Fund is quite a gift, this year $878.00. But, let me share with you a greater gift
from God. In 2 Corinthians 8:9, we are
told about the grace, or the ‘gift’ of God.
“For you know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so
that you through his poverty might become rich.”
God is talking about more than monetary riches in this
verse. The riches which Jesus left
behind so that He could share them with us are the riches of heaven. Jesus left behind the riches of life with His
Father in heaven, to live in this world of sin and pain and death, so that you
and I could receive heaven ourselves.
Because the Son of God took on our poverty, because He died for our sins
and rose again, we are offered the greatest gift of all. As we believe in Jesus God gives us the riches
of eternal life in heaven in the presence of God Himself. Such sacrificial love and generosity is
beyond measure. Who else has paid such a
high price to give us so precious a gift?
In the Lord’s Prayer we pray for the material blessings we
need today, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
But, in Jesus God has given us everything we need for eternity.
How do you use your Permanent Fund? I know people that use this extra cash as mad
money, and buy four wheelers or TV’s.
Some use this money to catch up on bills. My wife and I have tithed off our Permanent
Fund from the beginning of our time in Alaska, and then put our kids money
aside for college. For the last 3 years
we have also saved our own PFD’s so we can celebrate our 35th
anniversary with a trip to Germany. The
point is that no one I know throws the money away and doesn’t use it. It seems to me that people take extra special
care to use this gift wisely.
When we see our life as “the greatest gift,” hopefully we
take special care to use it wisely. In fact,
at St. John we are now in a time of stewardship education emphasizing joyful
giving. When we know that Jesus gave up
heaven so we can live this life in faith and hope and have eternal life in
heaven, how can we choose to waste our lives.
Perhaps like me, you want to serve God and love others because you want
to take special care to joyfully use the gift of life wisely.
A Child of God, Joyfully Living in God’s gift of Life,
Pastor Jonathan
****
ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS
FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully
weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have. (I am
always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving
this e-mail for the first time.) However, if you don’t want to receive
this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list
for this message. . . Or, if you know someone who would like to receive one
of these e-mails, please send me their
e-mail address.
****
No comments:
Post a Comment