Exponential Blessings

When God gives gifts to His children he does it right. Have you ever opened that perfect present on a shining Christmas morning? You look into the red and green trimmed box and find just what you were hoping for. It's that shirt, or tennis racquet, or the great new book. You pull it out and immediately put it to its intended use, and months later you are still reaping the benefits. The shirt is worn in, you're used to the new racquet, the book is even BETTER the second time through. Not only is the gift still giving, it's even better now than it was when you first unwrapped it.

Such are God's blessings. Beyond that, though, they multiply, they reproduce, they spread and grow and reap harvests. Tonight I went to an evening church service at my old home church. It's just a small church in a little town, but this summer it sent out 15-20 missionaries to locations all over the world. I was one of them. I got to travel to Ukraine and Romania, meeting distant members of God's family and ministering to ex-communists, Romanian orphans, and all other manner of eastern Europeans. So tonight myself and the other missionaries from the church gathered to share our experiences with any of the congregation that wanted to come and listen.

Many of those who showed up to hear our thoughts and memories were those that had supported us, either financially or with prayer and encouragement. So they had a part in our stories, they were part of the background, the setup, if not for them there would have been no stories. As we shared our experiences and reflections those listening nodded and "hmmm"ed and sighed. They were affected by what we had to say, they got to take part in our joys and insights. Although they weren't there when Sophia came to Christ, they now get to share in it, because they played a part in making it happen, and because they are part of the family of believers in this little church.

I got to take part in amazing things in Ukraine. From ministering to 60 year old ex-communists, to teaching through the entire Bible in 2 weeks, to swimming with kids whose families were disrupted by Chernobyl. I have been immensely blessed by this experience - I've learned and felt and grown - but God didn't stop there. Whether through my emails from Ukraine, or conversations after my return, or nights like tonight, God has multiplied those blessings, planting them in the hearts of those close to me. And in the same way I get to share in the blessings of the others who went out and traveled to different countries and ministered in such different ways.

And it's all because we are family. When your brother, or grandmother, or daughter is happy, you are happy. Through the bond of family we share in each others' lives and emotions. Successes are multiplied and burdens are shared. So when God decided that those who believed in His Son would become family, he created a way to multiply blessings. Instead of slowly accumulating in the lives of individuals, God's blessings are exponential. Praise be to God for his abundant blessings and his marvelous wisdom in spreading them throughout his family.