When we decide to follow Jesus, our lives are no longer our own, and our existence gets caught up in the things that God is doing in our time. Our priorities and allegiances shift.
We are filled with the things of God but are called to live lives of sacrificial love. Our lives become abundant in the Spirit, only to be given away.
Is it a burden or a privilege to give it all away?
If we see that all is indeed grace for us, then we can give it away And how beautiful it is of an invitation to mirror the mark of our maker—of sacrificial love. For we run by a different standard and a different race. We’re called to Jerusalem. That is the place where Jesus died, out of his love for the world—that He may give life to many.
“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”- John 12:24
So is our life—in being called to give it all away.
Creatives who follow the way of Jesus are called to give away every last trade secret, every lesson learned, every skill set acquired, and lots and lots of art. We are blessed to be a blessing. The reason for cultivating silence, for imagining new realities, for innovating, for creating, for collaborating, and for practicing gratitude is for one thing: so that you can give it all away.
But then you say, “Then what if I have nothing left to give?”
Then we start walking with the eyes of faith, not by sight—knowing Jesus will provide us when we need it.
“We are creatives not for ourselves, but for the flourishing of humanity. We start companies, not for personal gain but to reimagine the marketplace as a place of generosity. We make things so that our communities are “filled with the creative energy fo God, allowing the next generation to join in the work of ushering in shalom.”
- Alabaster, All That We Are Made
We are not called to consolidate, but to liberate. So give it all away; help those around you start their own thing, tell all your artisan secrets, teach the next generation how to create, and offer your gift to the world. Give it all away and see what happens.
This day, September 19th to marks the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the champion of equal rights and defender of justice in the United States Supreme court. She said, “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
“ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” - 1 Cor 13:1-3
So we give in the way of love. In our speaking truth to power, we speak the truth in love. We fight to move others to do the same with joy and gratitude. How unappealing it is to be an angry, dissatisfied, and joyless activist to the very people we try to inspire.
I want to be known to be brave. To be a visionary. To be a woman of strength. Whose courage, vision, and strength Is rooted in her God.
May that be your ambition too, in Christ Jesus,
Tamara
