Mark 9:41 “I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.”

This is a beautiful promise, but it hinges on a very difficult thing: motivation. Only God really knows our motives. (Hebrews 4:12-13) It would be foolish for someone to think, “God owes me” after they did something nice for someone, because that would twist their motive all the way around to giving to themselves. That may sound extreme, but in some Prosperity Gospel circles, I think that’s exactly what happens. We are told to “Do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:10) However, that’s because they are our family. The fact that God will reward us for that shouldn’t be our primary motive.

Where this promise gets interesting is in the area of non-Christians giving because the recipient belongs to Christ, and this is something I feel I’ve experienced numbers of times. I certainly desire that the givers be rewarded! Of course the greatest reward is eternal life, and I can’t help but feel that the act of giving to someone because they belong to Christ opens the giver’s heart to receive the Gospel and the eternal life that comes by faith. In view of that, part of my ministry here is to receive such gifts. I am certainly not to go around asking for gifts – that’s extortion – but I am to live so that it is clear that I belong to Christ, so that in this way any gifts will be seen as being given for that reason. Jesus made it abundantly clear, in Matthew 6 and elsewhere, that my motive must be obedience to God and the advancement of His kingdom, but He can use the supply of my needs to bless those involved in that supply.

Father, in reading over what I have just written, I’m concerned for my own motives! Keep me from being greedy, of money or anything else. Help me relate rightly to Your supply, whether I’m a recipient or a channel. May I indeed seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, and give You the thanks and praise You deserve, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!