Luke 12:32-33 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor.”

God had taken care of all our big issues of his kingdom, like life and salvation. He continues to take care of all our smaller needs, like money or food, as well. That leads Jesus to this conclusion: We can live our lives for other people.

When he says, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor,” he is not saying we have to sell all our possessions. He is assuring us that God has enabled us to take care of the needs of others, and we can do so safely. After all, God has given us a whole kingdom, right?

Helping others is a major reason for which he has given us our possessions. We might be tempted to wonder, “Why did God give me these things to me if he doesn’t want me to use them all for myself? Why doesn’t he just give others what they need directly and leave me alone with my things?” But the Lord has a lovely reason for doing it this way.

When he asks us to help others, he is giving us an opportunity to demonstrate our love. Caring for someone else’s needs draws us together. It creates or strengthens a bond. In addition to our material support, those we help are lifted up emotionally. They know someone cares about them. God never created us to be independent. He put us here with other people, and he made us interdependent. This is why he gives my neighbor a need for me to fill, and he gives me a need for my neighbor to fill.

We also know what our neighbor’s greatest need is. We know the greatest poverty anyone suffers. People need the Bread of Life. Jesus just promised that God has given us the kingdom. This is the great possession that makes everything else possible. Can we give others everything else and withhold the greatest thing we have? Haven’t God’s promises made us free and confident to do whatever it takes to share the kingdom with others? We need not be afraid to give sacrificially in support of ministry at home or missions far away, because the Lord himself is the one who enables us to do so.