It Is As You Will

Someone has said that literally nothing is impossible to us, if we will as a people to do it. I believe that, and I think God believes that too.

Again and again we have asked, "What is God's will?" And it would seem that it is God's will that we move ahead...that we strive onward to love His Kingdom and to help bring it to pass. But it is always "our will" that needs priming. If we really said "yes" to God's work, then no goal would be too high.

Our giving and use of our finances has always been an indicator of what we think is important. And if we looked at our finances, we would discover that 85% of all we earn is used for necessities, i.e. food, housing, clothing, medical bills, etc. The balance of 15%, however becomes the give‑away to the question, "where is our heart's commitment?"

Of that 15%, 5% goes for recreation, 4% for alcoholic beverages, 2% for tobacco, 1 1/2% for cosmetics, 1% for T.V. and 1/2 of 1% for religion. This means that we are twice as receptive to "Avon calling" as we are to Christ's call in the Church. And it is easy to see that our bad habits are grossly more demanding of us than our stewardship for the Lord.

H.J. Heinz who is famous for his 57 varieties, was a Christian steward of large proportions. He was a S.S. teacher, president of his County S.S. association and an executive of the International Council of Religious Education. In his will, the opening words were: "I desire to set forth at the very beginning of this will as the most important item in it, a confession of my faith in Jesus Christ as my Saviour..." And then, in that will, he left a third of a million dollars to the church.

What is in your will and my will, as symbol of our love and tribute to Jesus Christ? Do we show it through our giving, and through our commitments?

Many years ago, in a western community, there was a very wise, old Indian. Stories had made the rounds of his wisdom, but a group of townsmen did not like the wise old man and wanted to ridicule and discredit him. They devised a scheme, at a public gathering to do so. One man, the leader took a tiny bird in his closed hand, and asked the old Indian, "Is the bird alive or dead?" If he said, "Dead", the man would release the bird. If he said, "Alive", he would simply crush the bird and reveal him dead, thus discrediting the old man. As they taunted him, the old Indian understood the trickery behind their questions, and when they asked him, "Is the bird alive, or dead?", he replied, "It is as you will!"

And so goes the cause of justice, and freedom, and Christianity, and the work of the Church in this world of ours. "Is it alive or is it dead?" The answer of course is: "It is as you will!"