Are You a Gospel Patron?
Part One: Joyful Giving
Editors note: The following was extracted from Gospel Patrons by John Rinehart.
A few months ago, I heard rumors of a woman who travels around the world proactively looking to support those who spread the gospel among the least-reached areas of the earth. “Who does that?” I said out loud. “I have to meet this woman.” And a month later I did.
I learned that she was in her forties when she unexpectedly inherited a large portion of her family’s business, worth millions of dollars. But unlike the winners of Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes, her reaction was not joy; it was fear.
“Up until then,” she said, “I’d rarely given away five percent of my income. And even at that I thought I was giving away my life’s savings. I was scared to death.”
“Do you ever think of what you would have done with the money if you hadn’t given it for gospel purposes?” I asked.
“It would have ruined me,” she said without hesitation. “I know people who put their money in the bank and never touch it, never steward it. And lots of other people in my shoes spend it all and end up in debt. Others I know have lost their marriages over money problems, which includes having too much money. It would have ruined me. But now, after many years, the foundation I started gives away $ 300,000 each year, and I love it!”
It became clear to me that day that the calling of a Gospel Patron is a growth process, a journey of generosity. And wherever you are on that journey, I hope to help you take the next step. To do that, we’ll crystalize the three components of a Gospel Patron: Joyful Giving, Gospel Proclamation, and Personal Involvement.
Joyful Giving
Three years after that initial visit to Sydney, God opened a door for me to return. I wanted to ask Simon more about how Gospel Patronage gets lived out in our day.
One afternoon we sat in round wicker chairs on his deck, talking about the essence and practice of Gospel Patronage. We had both seen that from history to today, Gospel Patrons enjoy giving. For the Gospel Patron, giving is an opportunity, not an obligation; a blessing, not a burden. Even Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). It became clear that the first mark of a Gospel Patron is generous and joyful giving.
At this point, some of you might be thinking, “I’d be happy about giving too if I had more money.” That sounds logical, but here we are confronted with the difference between the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God. Worldly wisdom tells us to secure ourselves first, then give. But Jesus told a parable about a man who thought this way, saying,
The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, “What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?” And he said, “I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.
- Luke 12:16-31
Jesus cut right to the heart of the matter. To put ourselves first is foolish in God’s eyes. Instead, Jesus tells us to put Him first. He praised a poor widow for this very thing.
Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
- Luke 21:1-4
The widow’s giving demonstrated that God was first in her life. Where her treasure was, there her heart was also.[ 316] The point here is that generous giving pleases God because it reveals that our hearts trust God and treasure Him. God is first.
Created for Good Works
But what does it mean to seek God’s kingdom first? To put it simply, it means to live for eternity, to seek the things of heaven and not the things of earth. Colossians 3: 1–2 helps us understand Jesus’ words, explaining:
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
The word seek in this context means “to devote serious effort to realize one’s desire or objective.” Athletes devote serious effort in order to win a race. Farmers devote serious effort in order to harvest a big crop. Soldiers devote serious effort in order to win a battle. And Christians are called to devote serious effort in order to advance Jesus’ Kingdom.
Let me pause to ask: Is your life marked by a serious effort to advance Jesus’ kingdom? The reality is that most of us haven’t been prepared for this kind of commitment, dedication, and discipline when it comes to our faith. William Wilberforce nailed this when he wrote, “No one expects to attain to the height of learning, or arts, or power, or wealth, or military glory, without vigorous resolution and strenuous diligence, and steady perseverance. Yet we expect to be Christians without labor, study, or inquiry.”
Faith & Finance Perspective:
The Bible is clear: we are not saved only to relax, retire, and wait for heaven. We are saved by grace, but saved to works. After we receive the gospel of grace, God wants us to go to work with Him. He adopts us and then invites us into the “family business.” Spend some seeking His heart as you consider the role you play in the family business
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
- Ephesians 2:8-10