This morning, a scripture suddenly came to mind: (Matthew 5:26) "Truly I tell you, you will never come out of there unless you have paid the uttermost farthing."~~ I remember a very old sister sharing this passage with me; she has now passed away. I recall a very serendipitous encounter when I met her. She came to our company to buy a plane ticket, but her caregiver said she couldn't fly because of cancer. This sister had always wanted to return to Taiwan, so I refused to sell her the ticket. She insisted I sell it to her, and that she would bear all the consequences herself. I said, "No! I need your doctor's permission before I can sell you the ticket." As it turned out, I spoke with her doctor, who said, "She does have cancer. Let her do what she wants! Her time is limited!" So I sold her the ticket, and from then on, we became very close friends. She was an 84-year-old sister who often traveled alone to share the gospel. She died at the age of 89, not from cancer treatment, but from choking on chicken. She never died in the pain of treatment in a hospital bed; on the contrary, she died joyfully and was even preparing to go to Japan for missionary work again. An 84-year-old woman with cancer didn't choose to be bedridden for treatment, but instead chose to travel and share the gospel.
This old lady was amazing! She often flew alone to Japan and Taiwan to share the gospel, and she often shared it with strangers. I really admire her. She often asked me to buy her plane tickets, and she would only pay me back when she had saved enough money. I often voluntarily helped her out, and she would often ask, "Do I owe you any money?" I would say, "No!" She would say, "The Bible says, 'If anyone owes a penny, that person cannot go to heaven!' So, you must never let me owe you anything!" I would say, "Don't worry! You don't owe me any money!" We know that many people in this world mistake "taking advantage" for their cleverness! Many people constantly use their cunning to gain advantages, but they don't realize that those who owe others cannot go to heaven! The Bible tells us that if you owe even a penny, you will never come out of there. If we owe others and God, we cannot go to heaven. You who like to take advantage! Perhaps you can gain immediate benefits, but you will always have to pay the price for your debts! Those who owe others and God, certainly cannot go to heaven!
Yesterday, an elderly lady from church said, "I want to give to you, not to the church!" She kept saying that if I gave the money to the church, she would never give again! She said, "I trust you! As long as you share in any good deeds I do!" Recently, we have encountered more and more people willing to help us because they know that we have always been financially motivated in our ministry. We have never made "making money" our sole purpose in pastoralism! Our purpose in pastoralism is to expand God's tabernacle! Many pastors focus on "grabbing resources," while our pastoralism focuses on distributing resources. We must understand one thing: A great light can only illuminate and cover a limited area, because we are all ordinary people, not an infinite light! If we can disperse the light source, we can expand God's tent! "God's resources" are not for glorifying certain individuals; God's resources are for allowing more people to see "God's glory"! "Taking advantage," "grabbing resources," and "seizing power" do not glorify God; they are "owing God's glory"! Those who "owe God" will never enter Heaven! A person who "owes God" and "owes others" will certainly not go to Heaven; they have no part in Heaven! A person who owes God and others truly has no part in God's blessings! A person without "blessings and grace" is indeed a pitiful person, because they must toil tirelessly just to survive, and even while toiling, they live in the darkness of fear! The first principle for receiving blessings: Do not owe anyone!
