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Above and beyond is the spirit of the gospel. It's not merely a generosity window at church once a year, but a calling to give beyond what we normally give so that we can go beyond where we normally go. The fundamental assumption is that we're already giving regularly—and then we give above that.
This concept comes alive through one of Jesus's most familiar parables, which teaches us about God's economy and our role in it.
Jesus told this story in response to an expert in the law who asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" After reciting the greatest commandment—love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself—the man tried to narrow the definition. "Who is my neighbor?" he asked.
Jesus responded with this parable:
A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
A priest came along and saw him—but passed by on the other side. Then a Levite, another religious leader, did the same thing. But then came a Samaritan, a man not even particularly welcome in that region. When he saw the injured man, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two dinari—two days' wages—and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, "Look after him, and when I return, I'll reimburse you for any extra expense you may have."
Then Jesus asked: "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
This is the spirit of above and beyond. This is how the kingdom of God works.
The kingdom of God—building churches, planting churches, taking the gospel to the ends of the world, translating Scripture for people who've never read God's Word in their heart language, feeding the starving, lifting the poor, giving them opportunity to advance in life, get an education, move forward, and have a family and a home—all of this requires that the kingdom economy is working well.
The kingdom economy works like this: God gives us the opportunity to step into the story and be a conduit for His provision for the people of earth. He's inviting you today to participate in this economy. It's the greatest investment you could ever make, both in this world and in the world to come.
The book of Proverbs captures this wisdom beautifully:
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. (Proverbs 19:17)
Let that sink in. Whoever has pity on the poor lends to the Lord. God says He will repay what has been given.
Now, God owns everything—the cattle on a thousand hills, the earth and all that is in it. But understand this: the earth that belongs to the Lord might be your plot of land. The cattle on the thousand hills might be in your pasture. For God to activate compassion and mercy in the world, He needs people like the Samaritan to say, "I'm willing to loan what I have to the kingdom economy of God."
You own it, but you'll loan it. God gave it to you, but you'll loan it. The reason you have it is because God blessed you—but you'll loan it to Him so He doesn't have to drop dollar bills out of the clouds. He could do that. He can put money in a mailbox, food in a pantry, build a house all by Himself. But He doesn't normally work that way. He normally asks if anybody would be willing to loan Him $100.
That's what He asked of all three people on that Jericho road. The first religious man wouldn't stop—he'd become ceremonially unclean, and he wasn't willing to be involved. The second man, also religious, crossed to the other side for the same reason. They were unwilling to be a conduit for God's provision. But the Samaritan said, "I will have pity on you, and by doing so, I will loan to the Lord."
What a thought: you and I can lend to God.
Why does this matter so much? Because we understand what it means to have a debt we cannot pay.
You could be a billionaire, and you still cannot pay off the debt of your sin. You cannot pay it with all your good efforts for the rest of your life. You and I had a debt in the kingdom economy of God that we could not pay. We are dead in our sins, unable to pay because we don't have the right currency—righteousness.
You couldn't even have died for your own sin, because you were already spiritually dead. We needed a living person. We needed someone with righteous life who could pay the debt for sinners like us.
There was only one such person: Jesus Christ. He is the only one who ever had the right currency to pay for our sin. And in the kingdom economy of God, He said, "I got you. I got you. I have a way to pay this debt." And He did.
Now, in that same spirit, we are rising up and saying, "And I would like to pay You back." We can't pay God back in the literal sense. But we can live a life that says, "I want to be available in this kingdom economy where You paid what I couldn't pay. I want to be available so that You have earthly currency to help people in life, to build the church, to take the gospel and Scripture to the world, to see the Jericho man raised up to his feet again and given hope and a future."
Let me be direct about this: If the Samaritan man didn't stop, the injured man would die. He was already half dead; he didn't have long. This creates a real tension. God is watching people die today because somebody didn't loan to the Lord.
I can't resolve that tension completely. I know God can rain down bread in the desert. I know He can make soup appear out of nowhere. I know He can snap the captors' chains. We read these stories in Scripture—the widow whose oil and flour multiplied by faith. God can do miraculous provision. But it's not what He normally does.
He normally uses a person who's caught up in the flywheel of the payment that was made for them—a payment they couldn't make themselves. They're caught in that same slipstream, making their resources available as a loan to God so that the Jericho man can be healed.
The Samaritan man apparently had some extra resources. I don't think he woke up that morning planning to find a half-dead man on the road. He didn't budget for the Jericho Road; he just knew there was a need, and he had prepared in the "above and beyond" spirit for it.
That's what the church is doing this season. We don't know what all the needs are. We don't know where the Jericho man is coming into the story this year, but we're going to be ready when they do.
Part of Above and Beyond helps us build our churches strong. Some helps college students attend Passion. Some covers the cost of Passion events in stadiums—costs far beyond registration fees. Some resources equip people all over the world who have free access to Passion's materials as they grow in their faith. Some will help us reach Japan, plant churches, and help the needy and poor.
We have local partners: Envision Atlanta, doing amazing work with refugees in our city; A Healing Bridge on the southside, a free clinic providing medical care to families without insurance or means; and Mus Ministries, a long-time partner. Part of every dollar given to Above and Beyond goes to these organizations because we see the Jericho men, and we want to be among those who have pity on the needy and therefore lend to the Lord.
We have global partners: Convoy of Hope responds when homes are destroyed; A21 prosecutes traffickers and restores freedom to the exploited; and Illuminations takes Scripture into every part of the world, translating it into the heart language of people who've never read God's Word in their own language.
Yes, we want to be the good Samaritan. But before I really saw the good Samaritan, I saw myself in the story—I was the guy in the ditch. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Sin had done a number on me, leaving me dead on the side of the road.
I saw Jesus coming down the Jericho road. I saw Him bandaging me. I saw Him putting me on His donkey, taking me to the inn, paying the bill, making it possible that by His stripes I am healed and restored and brought back to life.
I was the guy in the ditch. Therefore, I want to be the kind of person who sees the man in the ditch. I want to realize that I have been seen and shown mercy. And I want to see and show mercy not just a couple times a year, but as a lifestyle.
Paul wrote about building on the foundation of Jesus Christ:
If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, their work will be shown for what it is. Because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss. But yet will be saved, even though only escaping through the flames. (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)
Paul is saying you could be saved by the skin of your teeth. All you built in life—your stuff, your money, your investments, everything you thought was impressive—could be incinerated on entry into heaven. You'd arrive with nothing.
I don't know if there's sadness in heaven, but I don't think you want to be saved escaping through the flames. Jesus is inviting you into the kingdom economy to keep you from being that person.
He's saying, "Hey, I need your help here." Technically, He doesn't need our help—He's almighty God. But if this person is going to get bandaged and helped, if the starving around the world aren't going to die, He needs our help. "Will somebody help Me? Will anyone loan to Me?"
By saying yes to the kingdom economy, you're not just helping others—you're saving yourself from losing everything.
I have to think the Samaritan man fought cynicism at some point. He might have thought: "What if this guy deserved to get jumped? What if he gets to the inn and the innkeeper runs up a huge bill, claiming all sorts of expenses? How will I know if it's real?"
He could have been cynical right then. And I understand why cynicism exists in our world—there's a lot of stuff wrong. But you and I cannot let the spirit of cynicism keep us from being the good Samaritan. We cannot let it creep into our hearts and minds.
Yes, do due diligence on who you give to. Yes, seek discernment and wise counsel when investing in organizations that feed the poor, build houses, or set captives free. Yes, be wise. But at the end of the day, you and I can't control where every penny ends up. Don't be foolish, but don't be cynical either.
Early in my ministry, I was an assistant youth pastor at First Baptist Atlanta in the 1970s, when that part of town was rough—abandoned buildings everywhere. Our building required buzzing in at security. I'd often go out to talk with homeless people—some inebriated, some going church to church. I learned quickly that they were good at the performance of repentance. I thought I was leading them to the Lord, only to have a teammate lead the same person to the Lord two weeks later.
I had to learn: How do I care for the Jericho man? For me, it meant: I don't have money, but I'll take you to lunch. I won't buy you a bus ticket, but I'll drive you there myself.
But after a while, I realized the spirit of the cynic was right here, and the spirit of the gospel was in here. I believe God is big enough that I can trust Him with my money, even if I don't know if the innkeeper will do it right, even if the person doesn't thank me.
I got the gospel engine working in here, and I want to say yes. If God needs a loan, I want to be a yes.
Finally, to be prepared, you have to create margin.
The earthly model is to be maxed. If this card is maxed, get another one. If that's maxed, get another. We're maxed. The heavenly model is margin. Start with the mindset: I don't want to be leveraged. I want to be available. I can't be maxed. I have to create margin.
My financial goal is margin. Why? So when I come down the Jericho road and see the man, I don't say, "Man, I feel terrible for you, but I'm maxed." I say, "I feel terrible for you, and thank God I've got margin."
In this Above and Beyond season, some of you will not give—and you don't need to. You prayed, and God said, "No, it's not your time." That's great; we respect that.
Some of you have upside-down finances. You're maxed, and there is no above and beyond. There's no margin. There's nothing to give. Please don't give then. Do not go into debt to give into Above and Beyond. Ask God to give you wisdom to get your finances in order. Maybe that takes a year; maybe it takes five. But start down that road. We'll help you for free.
Some of you have had a job change or employment situation you didn't see coming. This isn't your Above and Beyond season. We need to be sensitive to you as a community. We're here for you in this season. You don't need to give into Above and Beyond.
But start over with a new mentality: When God does provide, I want to resist being maxed. I want to start preparing for margin so that when I run across the Jericho man, I could buy him a car, buy him a house, help his kid go to college, pay off his medical bill. Thank God I have what it takes to be in the kingdom economy of God.
And good news—not the reason why, but when we paid off their medical bill, we're getting that back in the heavenly economy with interest. And we'll be happy in heaven.
