Gleaning

This is a topic I'm really interested in us getting familiar with. Did you know that we are supposed to leave extra for the poor, the stranger, the alien, the widow, the orphan? This concept of Gleaning is a call to us to be sensitive about how we deal with Surplus!

Look at the parable of the Rich man who had extra!
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Luke 12:15Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

16And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
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Think of how much wiser it is to handle the "extra" of our lives with generosity!
From tipping waiters to taking our change at the Thrift Store, we can RELAX and stop scraping after every cent, when we put our hearts on generosity!

Look at the teaching that follows this! The next verses are all about not worrying! When you are generous/rich toward God, you won't be consumed by worries about gaining and preserving your material wealth! What a load off!
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22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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It is my prayer for us all that our lives would be consumed with generosity--that our worries would be lost in the joy of losing this life/gaining the next!

Look at what Jesus is teaching us! he is teaching us that we don't have to harvest our fields down to the last olive, grape, or sheaf of grain! He's telling us to be generous, and then to relax and trust! Get rid of the extra! Stop scrapping and scraping to get the best and most!

Kingdom come means a different life! Live differently!