Spending It All

Spending It All

Several years ago a friend and I wandered through a palazzo in Florence, Italy, killing an hour or so before our return flight home. We’d been in Italy for nearly a week and were feeling pretty confident we could navigate the peculiar traffic, strange money, and communication mazes with some measure of ease. We decided to spend every lira in our pockets and headed for the nearest gelato stand.

Using a combination of gestures and words, we ordered—we thought—two single-scoop cones of gelato. What we got was two double-scoop cones for twice the price we’d planned. We emptied the contents of our purses and pockets and still came up short. The gelato vendor looked at us with pity and waved us out of his store.

I was reminded of that spend-it-all spree when I attended a Bible conference to hear a noted teacher. Prof, as he was affectionately called, was nearing his eighties. Cancer had claimed his right eye, and he wore a black eye patch against his softly aging face. His gait was slow, and his hands trembled—but when he began to teach from Scripture, he was ageless.

His voice was full of delight, and I swear his good eye twinkled. He challenged us to live intentionally for Christ in a dying world—and he did it with passion, clarity, and power. As he did, I thought, He’s spending it all. He’s spending every last bit of himself doing the thing he was made to do, to the glory of the one who made him. This man means to go out empty.

Some of us are savers, and some are spenders. After watching Prof teach for a handful of hours, I was more sure than ever that I want to be a spender. Right now is a slice of time so thin it can barely be measured, but we live like this world is everything we’ve got. In time my own body will age and slow and falter, too, but it’s not the best of what I have to offer. I’m made for spending from the inside out, and the heart held fast by Jesus is always young. Prof taught me that.

Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

1 Corinthians 15:58