Count All Your Blessings
Synopsis of Vision Venture Sermon #8 from November 7th, 2004
(Bible Text: Luke 9:10-17. Jesus feeds 5000 people and generates 12 baskets of leftovers from 5 loaves and two fish.)
The following story wonderfully illustrates how we become blessed not in receiving or even having blessings, but in sharing them.
The
Potter
There was a potter who needed a pitcher for the milk she poured over her cereal
every morning. So she measured the height of the shelves in her refrigerator
and calculated the necessary dimensions for a half-gallon pitcher.
She went to her studio, chose the clay she thought best and sat at her wheel.
She made a shape pleasing to her eyes--after all it was her pitcher--she put on
a handle shaped to her hand and added a pouring lip for that was
the purpose of the pitcher.
She brushed on her favorite color of glaze, fired it and was delighted with the
results--she had created a beautiful pitcher.
She took it home, filled it with milk, put it in the refrigerator and went to
bed.
The next morning the potter poured a bowl of cereal, opened the refrigerator,
and reached for her new pitcher. The pitcher suddenly shouted, "Oh, no you
don't! Keep your hands off!"
The potter responded, "I was just going to pour some milk on my
cereal."
"No, you're not!" Replied the pitcher.
"I worked hard to get this milk. I started out with no milk at all, but
through hard work and careful stewardship, I am now full of milk. No one's
going to come along and pour out all that I've wanted so long to achieve!
Anyway, I need all this milk; I've got a kid going to dairy school next
year."
"Hmmm," pondered the potter. "I don't think you understand the
real story here. You see, I created you and I made you for the express purpose
of filling you with milk so that I could pour it out each morning on my cereal.
You were made to pour not to store!"
"A nice story, but I don't get it," said the pitcher. "But
seeing that you are in need, I am a generous pitcher. I will give you two
tablespoons of my milk. That should wet the cereal nicely. Everything
in Moderation -- that is what I think!"
The potter looked deeply into the heart of the pitcher, "You're
afraid." she said, "Your afraid that if you allow me to pour out the
milk you will find yourself empty, that you will then be poor, and that I will
throw you out and find another pitcher. You don't realize that if you do allow
me to empty you, then I will have found you to be a priceless pitcher.
Then I will continue to fill you to the top over and over and over again, and
we will become partners in emptying and refilling you. Perhaps, if you are
willing to be emptied more completely and more often, I will find many other
bowls of cereal who are longing to be drowned in the love of your
giving."
"And what if I don't believe you, and I want to play it safe and just keep
the milk I've got?" The pitcher inquired.
"You are free to make that choice," the potter said with a sad voice.
"But then I will make another pitcher who is willing to be my partner. I
will have to set you on the back of the refrigerator shelf. You can keep your
milk. But after a time it will spoil, and your odor will keep everyone
away. And you will have missed the greatest job for which all pitchers
are created -- the joy of being poured out!"
-Author unknown, Obtained from Jerry
Hoffman at http://www.luthersem.edu/stewardship/,
slightly revised
That story perfectly recaps the message from last Sunday. Our question today is; Just how much has been poured into you, into your life?
If you literally tried to “count all your blessings” it’d be a big volume – an atlas! So let’s just “flip through a few pages” to get a feel for it.
Health – sure, everyone wants more than they have, but think for a minute about how much health you do have instead. Mental health, emotional health, physical health, mobility, our incredible health care system – doctors, nurses, amazing medications… Our health is so good overall in this country that we typically live decades longer than people in many other nations of the world.
Education – High School? College? Advanced degree(s)? And so many people worldwide wish they could read or write.
Housing – Hot & cold running water, indoor plumbing (remember the alternative there…) Heat in the winter, probably air conditioning in the summer as well. Roof over your head that probably doesn’t leak, made of shingles vs. leaves & branches or corrugated metal. And the amount of space! In my modest-by-American-standards house, I was shocked to discover that there are eleven rooms! And only four people live there. This doesn’t even include the screen porch, two decks, two car garage, and pop-up trailer. Or the yards!
Access to information – Look at the front of the phone book – pages & pages of experts you can call to get an answer. Plus the internet. Plus your local library. And “local” probably actually includes 20 libraries, some world class at universities! And you can walk right in and find a reference librarian who will get the information for you and do it with a smile! Plus TV and radio… discovery channel, PBS…
Freedom and Rights – Freedom of the Press, association, travel, religion! Right to vote, to trial by jury, to privacy, to due process…. How many people world wide dream of having even half of these!
Spiritual blessings! – A personal relationship with Jesus?! The Holy Spirit Himself poured into you in Baptism! Add to that 20 centuries of Christian wisdom to draw upon – not to mention Old Testament! And a printed Bible you can own… an unimaginable luxury only a couple of generations ago! I’ve probably got enough Bibles to put one in each of my eleven rooms! And the translations! You can probably access 15 to 20 different translations of the Bible! What a blessing that is!
Family and Friends – the people who know you, love you, care about you, take you in… and sometimes kick you out <g>!
What about Beauty… Art… Music… and then there’s all your Personal Property. (You know, all that stuff filling up those eleven rooms!)
And please notice, I haven’t even mentioned Money and Time.
Consider all these blessings. We’re not just talking about a couple of loaves and fish here… you have been given a lot! God has poured an enormous amount into you and into your life!
You’re not some little cream pitcher. Your not like one for a half-gallon. You’re not even like a 50 gallon drum… you’re like one of those giant water tower reservoirs for the whole city!
And Jesus wants to pour all these blessings out. It’s not just about money! It’s not about giving some of your money, or about giving a tithe of your money. It’s not even about giving 100% of your money because it’s about investing your whole life into his mission!
Jesus fed 5000 people with a couple of loaves and fish. Do you know what he can do with all the blessings he’s poured into you?
He can change the world.
When I say “change the world” that is not a metaphor and it is not an exaggeration.
A couple
years back our congregation did Lenten soup suppers, collected some money and
helped to build a dormitory in
With all your blessings, Jesus can change the world.
So, share all your blessings. Invest all your life, all your health, all your freedoms, all your housing… into his mission
That is where the hope of the world, and the joy of your heart will be found.
Amen