The overall theme of Outflow is to allow the love of God to overflow from our lives into others. Reading 9 included a great reminder that we cannot continue to pour out into others if we are not constantly refilling ourselves.
From page 88, it reads: ‘”If all you do is give and give and give and never receive, soon you’ll be empty and worn out. Though it may start out as generosity, when you give and never receive, your giving becomes all about you. It becomes condescending, prideful, and ultimately arrogant. The love in it dies and shrivels into grudging obligation. It becomes a selfish martyrdom that’s more about everything you’ve sacrificed than it is about the people you’re helping. It’s ugly and it’s not what God desires.”
Amen to that!
Paul put it well in his 2nd letter to the Church at Corinth:
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed… – 2 Corinthians 9:8
Please don’t forget to let God pour into you directly AND to let Him pour into through other people. Many of us are more than willing to help others, but not quite as willing to be helped. Many of us try to pour and pour and pour, but never let so much as a drip back into us.
Be careful and be constantly filled!
