Remember, and Give

Don’t for a minute forget that you were once slaves in Egypt and God, your God, redeemed you from that slave world.
Deuteronomy 15:15a, MSG*

Context: Moses instructs the people to release any Hebrew slaves after six years of service. They could only be slaves in the first place if they had fallen on hard times and sold themselves.

Moses says the owner is not only to set the slave free after this period, but to send him or her off well-provisioned from the owner’s personal wealth.

Today’s verse tells us why. It also gives us perspective for our own lives.

Remember Paul’s challenge to the Corinthians, to remember their humble origins? (1 Corinthians 1:26) His point was that we can’t boast in our own abilities—we’re saved and empowered by God.

Moses uses the same “remember your past” to say something different yet related. His focus here is more on gratitude, and on generosity.

Because we’ve been given much, we’re to freely give much. (You can tweet that.)

This isn’t about remembering past bondage and dirt to weigh us down. That’s the enemy’s tactic, but it’s never God’s plan. It’s about remembering what God has done in freeing us from that past.

We need to remember what God has done for us… steep in it… let it shape and change us… so we can live grateful lives trusting God and giving to others as He has given to us.

Having been set free, we are to set others free.

Having been given much, we are to give much. We can do this secure in the knowledge that  He who provided for us will not run out of provision.

Heavenly and holy Father God, we need fear no lack, because You are the God of abundant supply. You have saved us and treated us well when we didn’t deserve it. Warm our hearts with love and gratitude, and help us to treat others as You have treated us. Help us remember and rely on Your goodness so that we can live as givers, not as hoarders.

Take a few minutes to enjoy the Rhett Walker Band‘s song, “When Mercy Found Me.”

* The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

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