Chip K encourages us to be more radical in what we give God

Chip Kendall

It all started around a small table in a crowded pub. As the late night sea breeze roared outside and the noise of Plymouth's young clubbers soared inside, three men edged their seats closer to the table in order to listen more attentively to what each other had to say. It seemed something was about to be birthed. An idea. A movement. An opportunity to ask a question which would probably take the rest of their lives to answer. "How can I try to out-give God?" .

Okay, this is getting a bit ridiculous. Enough of the romance novel version of the story already. All I'm trying to tell you is that a few new mates of mine and I have officially started the "OGG" club - a group of people determined to do everything in their power to try and "out-give-God" (and email each other with the results). There's no membership fee, no dress code, no annual gathering, not even a funky little logo or wristband. All that's required is: #1 - an email address and #2 - a desire to be more generous with your time, money and possessions. Would you like to join? Sorry, did you say you'd like a bit more info? Oh alright, go on then.

In Mark 10:17-31, a rich young ruler had an encounter with Jesus which challenged him to his core. Jesus told him that in order to get eternal life, he'd have to go and sell all he had, give the money to the poor, and then come follow Him. Now that's a pretty tall order for anyone, let alone someone who's a well minted celebrity like this guy was. So what did he do? He walked away, sadly. He'd counted the cost of discipleship, and the cost was too high. (It's ironic, really. The guy probably thought he could afford anything!) You see, Jesus knew there was much more at stake than just the guy's riches. Before anyone can become a follower of Christ they must be willing to sacrifice everything for Him - even their very lives, if need be. But it isn't just because God is extremely selective as to who gets eternal life and who doesn't. It's also because He knows there's a deeply rooted principle at work, and it's just as active now as it was 2000 years ago when this true story took place. The principle is this: It is impossible to out-give God.

But, hey! You can certainly have a wonderful time trying. When you sacrificially give something - and I mean something that really costs - then step back and watch God out-give you in return. He absolutely loves to bless your little cotton socks off. I've seen it happen on countless occasions. Money, books, airplane tickets, even surfboards! God knows what means a lot to us personally, and He sees when we choose to give it away for Him. A very wise man told me this recently: "Obedience always leads to astonishment." When you obey God by giving up stuff for Him, you'll always be astonished by what He gives you in return.

In other words. "OGG forever, baby."