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Before I retired to motherhood, I was an accountant. I enjoyed keeping track of numbers. I still do.
But what about God? Is He the original accountant? And how does grace factor in?
Join us for Days 23-25 of our Lenten readings (download the “40 Days with the Storyteller” complete schedule here).
How Much Does That Cost?
Read Luke 14:25-33 for Monday, Day 23 (note: we swapped readings for Day 22 and Day 23)
Do you tend to overestimate or underestimate how much time or money a project will cost you?
When I make my schedule for the day, I usually guess wrong. I think I can get much more accomplished in 30 minutes than I can actually accomplish in 2 hours.
So when Jesus tells His followers in Luke 14:25-33 to figure out the cost before they start starting building a house, it bothers me. I know I’m bad at it.
But maybe we should look deeper at His meaning. None of us can accurately estimate future costs, but we can commit to following Jesus regardless of the cost. We won’t do that perfectly either. But our willingness to let go of hindrances and distractions will open up room for Jesus’s grace to come in.
Let’s always leave space for grace.
Every One Counts
Read Matthew 18:10-14 for Tuesday, Day 24
Even though our accounting is often off, God’s counts are always solid.
When even one is missing, God knows. And He acts on what He knows.
When Jesus spoke about the 99 sheep in the fold, and the 1 missing, He was reassuring His listeners: God notices you. He keeps up with where you are. He will come find you if you lose your way.
When something is missing—especially when that something is His child—God won’t ignore it. He reaches out.
Every one counts. That’s grace, too.
Who Gives More?
Read Luke 15:11-19 for Wednesday, Day 25
In the parable of the prodigal son, accounting again comes into play. The younger son knows the amount that is due him. Instead of collecting later, he wanted to collect now.
And spend now. Freely. Recklessly. Extravagantly.
But even in his foolishness, he couldn’t outspend his father. When he returned home on his knees, his father poured on the goods even thicker.
We can’t outgive God. Not now. Not later.
God’s accounting can’t be charted on columns of credits and debits. He always tilts things in our favor from His overflow of grace.
As you continue on your journey of Lent, thank God for how He keeps up with you.
Please share your thoughts in the comments. Are you a math person? What do you appreciate about God’s accounting?
I did not know you were an accountant, Lisa! There are so many good bits in this post. I love this: “We can’t outgive God. Not now. Not later.” No matter how generous we are, we are not more generous than God, who has given us life, time, and grace. My projections on how much I can accomplish in a given amount of time are also usually pretty far off. I used to be continually late because I always wanted to accomplish just one more thing before I left home. Thankfully, I realized how rude I was, making others wait for me, so I now leave home on time no matter what!
A generous God indeed! We are so blessed.
I had a friend who was perpetually late for years and years. But after a serious car accident, she totally shifted and became early to everything. It’s funny how our time estimates (and other things) can change with a different perspective. That’s awesome that you were able to willingly make that change, Laurie.
I still draw on my accounting background from time to time, but it’s pretty much a distant memory now. :)
Great thoughts! I am not a numbers person but I love that in God’s economy it doesn’t matter. The line where you write, we can’t outgive God really speaks to me. He always shares His abundance with us.
“He always shares His abundance with us” – what a God we have! Thanks, Mary.
I’m so glad that God cares about keeping up the the one that strays from the 99. I’ve been that one and to know that He rescues is such a powerful lesson of love. I know that this made me think too about how we need to care about the one of the 99 that strays. We need to reach out. It actually brought to my attention that I’ve slacked off in my encouragement texts that I was sending out for a while. It’s amazing how God uses various methods to put on our hearts what He wants us to do!! #HeartEncouragement linkup
I’m also glad that He keeps up with every single one of us. Nobody escapes His care, even when we try to hide. His love is wider than our escape routes. :) Thanks for sharing this testimony, April. I love reminders that God is a personal God, and that He uses many things to show us our purpose and His love!
I like the analogy, Lisa. All that is in this cosmos is known to God, including the numbers… imagine that… He knows the amount of stars in the universe, the number of grains of sand, and the number of hairs on our head.
Nothing gets passed him and each soul counts. That’s a good thought to ponder.
That’s a lot of numbers He has to keep up with! ha. Yes, I’m glad each one counts. None of us get lost in the crowd with God.
Lisa, I found this interesting, my daughter is a CPA (Chartered Practicing Accountant). God’s precision is always amazing, especially in the physics of this universe! :-D
Blessings,
Jennifer
It’s so crazy when we look at any one aspect of the universe and see how complex it is. Yet God created it all. Yes, His precision is amazing indeed, Jennifer!