A Disciple's Path: Walking in Gratitude

from my message on Nov. 10, 2013, from Psalm 24:1-2 and II Cor. 9:6-15

Paul says, The Point is this, the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Pop Gunn, that's what he was called.  His given name was Curtis C. Gunn, but everybody called him Pop, Pop Gunn.  He was a member of the church I served in San Antonio, Laurel Heights.  Maybe you have been to San Antonio and seen the Gunn auto dealerships?  Pop started in the 1950's with one Oldsmobile dealership, but as you can see from the website, it grew to include Chevy, GMC, Honda, Nissan, etc.  Pop was quite rich.  Can you be rich and still be a Christian?  I think so.  Pop had a heart for Jesus.  He sowed bountifully.  Pop was one of the visionaries that started the Methodist Hospital in San Antonio.  That has now grow to some 9 centers around San Antonio.

Pop was also very involved in the Permanent Endowment Fund at Laurel Heights UMC.  He invited many of his church members and friends to support the fund.  He sowed bountifully. When I got there as pastor, the fund had something like $1.3 million in it.  Our Permanent Endowment Fund at Westlake UMC has a little under $40,000.  Of course, Laurel Heights has been in existence a lot longer.

One day, Pop had me visit one of our church members who had an apartment in an assisted living facility.  Mr. A. D. Larson was his name.  He had been married, but his wife had died years before.  They never had any children.  He had never had a high office in any corporation.  He had been a bookkeeper and an accountant.  He had lived very modestly.  Over the years he had made wise investments.  When he died, he left a portion of his estate to the Laurel Heights UMC Endowment Fund.  He left $1.3 million!!!! He doubled the fund with his one gift!  Talk about sowing bountifully and reaping bountifully.

Not all of you can do.  Not all of you are called to do this.  My job is to preach the good news today and to offer some practical advice and then to tell you one story.

The good news is this:  God owns everything.  I know we pretend that we own stuff.  We put our names on pieces of paper that say this house is ours, or this parcel of land, or this car, or this stock portfolio, but really we own nothing.  The Psalmist says, The earth is the Lord's and everything in it.  We are just borrowing the stuff for a little while.  We are sharecroppers.  What are you going to take into the next life after you die?  Nothing.  We sow and reap, but we are sharecroppers.

Really I find this to be quite liberating.  We are freed from worrying about taking care of ourselves.  We are freed to seeing how we can glorify God for this short time we are on earth.  The stuff is his.  How do we recognize that in our decisions?

This creates in us gratitude.  We have been given so much.  How do we say "thank you" to God?  We sow in gratitude.  We reap in gratitude.

And we do this harvesting with cheerfulness.  Paul says that we are not to give out of guilt or compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver.  My prayer is God send me a church of cheerful givers.  And it feels good to give.  You know this.  I went last night to a banquet for Foundation for the Homeless where many members of this church hold leadership positions.  Oh, and people were laughing.  They were giving away thousands of dollars and smiling!  They were cheerful.  It felt good to make a difference with our generosity.  It is our thank you note to God.

Now the practical.  Preparing for this message, I knew I had to be a person of integrity, so I got out my will.  How many of you have a will?  I know the last time we made an emphasis on the Permanent Endowment Fund, we found some folks who didn't have one.  They were smart people, but they didn't have a will.  If you don't have a will, the great State of Texas has one for you.  Unfortunately, it just doesn't fit anyone who ever died.  My brother David died without a will.  It was a mess.  The first practical thing I have to share is get a will.  Especially as you have children, include guardians for them and trustees for the estate.  Some of you will need to choose someone with durable power of attorney who can act on your behalf if you are incapacitated.

In your will, you could include the Permanent Endowment Fund.  Again, as a person of integrity, I looked closely at my will.  I have set aside 10% of my estate to the church.  Not this church.  I am giving to 3 places that shape my faith.  The First UMC of Littlefield, Tx, that nurtured me as a child and youth.  The Wesley Foundation at Texas A & M where I received my call to ordained ministry.  The Perkins School of Theology where I did my seminary work.  Maybe you can remember Westlake UMC in your will.  It could be an insurance policy, or a stock, or a bond, or a piece of land.

Now as a person of integrity, I am giving to the Westlake UMC fund.  I did it this morning as a cash gift.  I went to our church website and charged it to my credit card....and got airline miles too!   It only took a few seconds.  Maybe some of you can give that way.

I am asking you today to walk in gratitude and to give a gift that has a long-lasting impact.  Like Pop Gunn, we sow bountifully today, expecting a bountiful harvest that we may never see ourselves.  We have future perspective.  It is like supporting the Healthy Church Initatives.  It is preparing for a future.  It is making a way for those who aren't here yet.  It is like being a veteran of the military.  I know that tomorrow is Veteran's Day.  You serve not thinking of yourself but others.  Not just thinking about today, but about the future.

Now the story.  Each week on this path of discipleship, I have telling you a story from this past summer's renewal leave and hiking part of the Appalachian Trail.  Here's that picture of Cathy and me again.  Look closely at the blue bucket at the base of the sign.  It is filled with iced down Gatorade.  That is called Trail Magic.  Any gift along the path, that someone else freely gave, with no strings attached is Trail Magic.   It might be watermelon slices.  It could be a hamburger cookout.  It might be candy bars.  How wonderful it is be come upon Trail Magic when you are hot and tired and hungry!

Remember last week when I told about losing Cathy's expensive Canon camera and someone returned it?  That's Trail Magic.  Cathy and I got to practice Trail Magic.  The next day after getting the camera back, we got to our car to find a young German couple who asked us for a ride into town.  We helped them find a youth hostel.  That was Trail Magic.  Another day we passed out cookies.  We met another German couple whose trail names were Hansel and Gretel.  German television had shown a documentary on the Appalachian Trail, so we met a lot of Germans.  We took Hansel and Gretel to Walmart to shop.

I am asking you to practice some Trail Magic.  To give away for those you may not even know, without strings, for the future.  I am asking you to do this with gratitude, cheerfully.

I am asking you to sow bountifully, knowing that God will reap bountifully.