From blessed to blessing

This is a passage that’s very short, but teaches a very important lesson.

We see Jesus here going out from town to town, preaching the gospel. And along with his disciples, we see three women, Mary Magdalene, the wife of a member of Herod’s household named Joanna, and another woman named Susanna.

We don’t know much about these women. What we do know is that they had all been touched by Jesus.

Mary Magdalene had had 7 demons cast out of her, and Joanna and Susanna either had had demons cast out or been healed of their diseases (or perhaps both). In short, they had all been blessed by Jesus.

Out of their gratitude, they began to follow Jesus, but not only did they follow, they supported his ministry financially.

What can we get from this?

We’ve all been blessed in some way by Jesus. Most importantly, he has blessed us by saving us from our sin by dying on the cross.

But for some of us, he has also rescued our marriages, he has restored our families, he has delivered us from alcohol or drugs, or he has healed our pasts.

But while it’s nice to be blessed, are you also a blessing? Are you always receiving as a Christian, or are you also giving?

Some Christians think, “Why should I tithe? It’s not New Testament teaching.”

That may be true, but we are called as Christians to be givers, even if we’re not told how much to give (2 Corinthians 8:7).

Why? Because God doesn’t simply want us to be a container of his grace. He wants us to be a channel of his grace. He wants his grace to flow through us to touch the lives of others.

Part of that is giving money to support your church, but it goes far beyond that. It means investing your very life in the lives of others.

How about you? Are you simply a container of God’s grace? Or are you a channel of his grace as well?