Faith is the Currency of Heaven
Life Lessons from Lillian Thrasher
This blog is a response to the All Nations Book Club selection, The Life of Lillian Thrasher: Nile Mother, by Beth Prim Howell and Bruno Andrade. Lillian Thrasher ran an orphanage “by faith” in Assiout, Egypt that is still in existence today. With no advanced cash in hand, she fed, clothed, and cared for 1,200 orphans each day. Unlike some other faith workers, who would ask no human for help but only pray, Lillian would pray and ask the Lord where to go to receive provision. This led to a book club discussion on faith as the currency of heaven
How can we be provided for by God?
How can we be rich toward God? (Luke 12:21)
How can we faithful in true riches? (Luke 16:10-12)
Recently, I began to raise funds for our ministry which will care for the fatherless in Palau (a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean.) I have never done anything like this before and was struggling with feeling like I was a beggar. And this was despite the fact that some of our best friends had encouraged me that raising funds for this project is like “a glorious Ambassador of Christ inviting Jesus` disciples as a team to join the Great Commission.” Nevertheless, after finishing my invitation letter, I still felt very unsettled and didn’t want to send it out. So I asked Jesus what was going on in my mind. Then I confessed that I still have a prideful heart and a worldly mind. So I prayed for forgiveness of my sin. Then I prayed, “Heavenly Father, I thank you that You called me and justified me! And I also asked You to glorify me.” (Romans 8:30) When I prayed this, He answered my prayer!
It is really difficult for both the missionaries (the goers of the Great Commission) and the supporters (the senders of the Great Commission) to sit down and talk about money. So both of them need faith from Jesus. The missionaries should have faith that they have been called by Jesus (not by man) and will be sent by Jesus through their supporters. Similarly, the supporters need faith that all they have is from Jesus and that through the missionaries they can invest in the Kingdom of God. So where did Jesus teach us how to deal with money by faith? How can we become rich toward Him?
Several months ago, the eyes of my understanding about Jesus’ 3 parables in Matthew 25:14-30 was enlarged. Now I know that the purpose of the second one, the Parable of the Talents, is talking about faith.
The Talent is Faith. In the parable the man is Jesus and the servants are us, about which we all know. But what about the talents? What is the talent (currency) in the Kingdom of Heaven? My answer is faith. If we love money we please the spirit of mammon, but if we love faith we please God (Hebrews 11:6). When you have enough money you can buy almost everything in the world (Ecclesiastes 10:19), while when you have faith even as a mustard seed, nothing will be impossible for you in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 12:20). To make an analogy, just as the US dollar is the currency of the United States, so faith is the currency of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Two Kinds of Faith. So Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12 :2), dealt to each one of us a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). Each of us has faith from Jesus by hearing the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Scriptures mention two kinds of faith: the faith of nonbelievers that brings them unto righteousness (Romans 10:10) and the faith for the believers nurturing the new life living in the old body (Galatians 2:20). These two kinds of faith have distinct Greek words: logos and rhema. In the Parable of the Seed (Luke 8:11ff), the seed sown is the logos, or ‘word’ to the nations. By contrast, in Matthew 4:4 the rhema is the bread that sustains humankind (cf. Isaiah 55:10). Therefore, by being a sower of Good News, we join the Great Commission becoming the light of the world. While consuming the bread, we obey the great Commandment, becoming the salt of the earth. As a resident of the US is both a receiver and user of the US dollar, so Jesus’ disciples are both a receiver and minister of the two kinds of faith.
The Work of Faith. Receiving the word of God is not the end but the Way. When we have faith, what then should we do? The answer is clear: take action. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so the faith without works is dead (James 2:26). When we, as servants, have done what is our duty to do, our faith will increase (Luke 17:5-10)! Just like both the first and the second servant in Matthew 25 went and traded with the talents, thereby increasing their talents, if we receive the word of God and work out immediately after Jesus speaks to us, our faith will increase exponentially! As a good athlete both eats well and works out well, so good and faithful disciples hear well and obey (put into action) well.
The Faith for Calling. As every word that goes forth from His mouth shall not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11), so God will not speak to the one who continually refuses to act. God has dealt each of us a measure of faith (His word) according to our ability. The different abilities are seen in our different callings (such as prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading, and showing mercy according to Romans 12: 3-8). But if one does not have enough time, energy, or training to step out of his comfort zone (either physical or spiritual comfort zone) to sow the seed or share the bread, that person might end up like the third servant who received only one talent (less faith) from Jesus. What should we do if we are that person? Let’s not be afraid or go and hide the talent in the ground like the person in the parable. Instead we ought to deposit the talent (faith) with the bankers to earn interest as Jesus suggested (Matthew 25:26-27).
Who are the bankers? Let's go back to see how God answered my prayer when He told me, “I have hired you as one of my bankers!” I felt shocked at first and then I cried, “Yes, Jesus! Thank you for giving me your glorious occupation!” Although I have been learning a lot about His Kingdom in recent years, Jesus really made things clear to me through this word. When He spoke to me, I felt no more shame about inviting our friends to join our ministry team. And many of them answered, “Yes! Thank you very much for inviting us! Let us know if you need anything.” Just as the bankers of this present world help their customers invest their money to earn interest for them, the “bankers” of the Kingdom of Heaven help their supporters to invest their faith to increase the fruit of righteousness for them (2 Corinthians 9:10).
So dear brothers and sisters, if you are called to become a “banker” of the Kingdom of Heaven, you are hired by Jesus not by men. And do not feel shy or ashamed to share your vision to your friends, because they would like to help you with their treasure, and you can help them harvest the fruit of their righteousness. Likewise, if you are called to become the supporters of the goers, you send them out to the mission field for Jesus. Commit to them faithfully as a team just like we all commit faithfully to the body of Christ.
True riches are faith toward God, by which we can “buy” (ask) every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)! So don't underestimate any measure of faith, even as little as a mustard seed that Jesus gave us, but invest it in the Kingdom of God, and the reward from Jesus is a guarantee.
About the Author:
Guozi is a missionary from China to Palau, currently in the process of support raising. ("Guozi" in Chinese is a pot.) Guozi's dream is becoming a spiritual food Cook, who would use the Scripture as ingredients, the Spirit as fire and the brain as the pot.
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