In its most fundamental form, exchange promotes life. When we breathe, we receive oxygen and expel carbon dioxide, a gas critical for plant life. On the other hand, plants expel oxygen to maintain life and growth. This exchange works rather well and there is an abundance of both gases to facilitate life for all three kingdoms: plant, animal, and mankind. (Science only categorizes life into two fundamental kingdoms which I disagree with)
In FATHER’S Kingdom, Love is the motivation for exchange and it is counterintuitive to man’s logic. Love gives and FATHER blesses with greater abundance. This is the foundation of the Heavenly Economic Model. Mankind’s economic model tends to operate on addition and subtraction whereas FATHER’S Model operates on multiplication and division.
Jesus represents the Divine Intent of Love and conveys the abundance of the Kingdom in the following story found in Luke chapter 5:
1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,
2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.
3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
Jesus had not yet called Peter to the ministry and Peter, a fisherman, was busy cleaning his nets. Jesus needed to utilize Peter and his boat so that he could teach the multitudes and all could hear. Peter accommodated Jesus and rowed out from the shore and listened to the Gospel while managing the boat. In response to Peter’s willingness to provide Jesus with the resource He needed, Jesus was now ready to bless Peter:
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
Love spoke a blessing over Peter but he challenged the blessing by allowing his mind and intellect to take control of the situation:
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
Peter’s orientation was based on mankind’s economic model of scarcity and challenged Love’s Intent to bless him. He compromised the Word and let down a net rather than multiple nets as Jesus requested. What was the result?
6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
FATHER’S economic model of abundance superseded man’s law of scarcity and overtook the fishermen’s capacity to receive. Yes, I understand that the fish represented Spiritual Truths of becoming fishers of men and other facets. Yet we must not overlook the fact that Jesus was expressing a Kingdom reality in the area of economics and finance. The mind wants to negate that aspect because it seems to be out of reach for us to expect a multiplication of resources. How did Peter respond?
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;
When Love arrives on the scene, blessing occurs. Mankind toils in a system of scarcity and then Jesus shows up to change the paradigm. He defied man’s knowledge, understanding, and skill. The Wisdom from Above understands how to take command over the infinite resources available to those who walk in the maturity of Love. Love is able to fund the spreading of the Gospel and meet men’s needs. There is no need to coerce funds from people. As you pursue Love, FATHER will open up the windows of Heaven and make the necessary resources available.
Men tend to steer away from this aspect of the Gospel in fear of failure. If I don’t expect the resources to come, then I won’t be disappointed when they don’t show up. That is the ego’s way of keeping you from your calling. You will never harvest a crop if you don’t plant seed. Every farmer know this simple truth yet the moment we speak of giving, alarms sound from the ego. Love gives, lust takes. If you give out of Love, the recipient’s intent won’t prevent you from your blessing. FATHER looks at the intent of the heart and is not limited by the recipient’s response or agenda. The recipient will be dealt with according to his motivation thus you don’t have to attempt to judge the outcome. FATHER is well equipped to handle the reconciliation aspect of giving and receiving.
Jesus understood that men need to be sustained by the necessities of physical life. He had no problem in blessing the four disciples’ families with an exceptional catch of fish. What do you think happened to all those fish that filled their boats? They surely took them to market and received sufficient income. Do you think those fish were of the highest quality? No doubt!
We must start looking at challenges as opportunities, not through the eyes afraid of failure. As we are led by HIS SPIRIT, FATHER will tell us which side of the boat to cast our nets. HE will tell us to take action even though the world’s logic would say that it will be fruitless. We must trust FATHER as we move toward challenging times ahead. If HE says to prepare, then prepare. If HE says to give, then give. When you take action according to HIS Word, your boat will be full. Some men get hard of hearing when it comes to funding the Gospel. Peter nearly missed it when Jesus told him to set aside his own logic and simply do what Jesus said to do.
If you walk according to the world’s economic model, you will continue to toil and suffer lack. We must seek to understand the Economics of Love if we are to be blessed and prospered. People who become desperate will look for someone who isn’t and want to know why. Our focus must be on Love and as good stewards we will be in command of the resources we need to minister life to all those we come in contact with. This is just one aspect of the “greater things” Jesus spoke about. It is time that we no longer compromise in this area of Love. When we have Love as our intent, then we will appropriately expect all promises to come to pass such as:
Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”