As the global financial crisis bites deeper, fears of how we will be personally affected rise to consciousness. Instinctively, we hold back on unnecessary purchases, hedge our assets and close our hearts to needs around us. Nations resort to protectionism, and individually we prepare to fight for survival.

Rhetoric amplified by the media escalates our fear. Reports that this recession is the worst since the Great Depression make us wonder how we will weather this downturn. Job cuts at major corporations and losses registered for the first time by industrial stalwarts like Toyota Motors stoke the fires of fear that paralyze us. Leadership changes, like at Sony Corporation, make us nervous about how we will cope even as we brace for what we have never experienced and cannot imagine.

In these tumultuous times, we desperately need to hear from God so we will know what to think and how to live. The story Jesus told about the Good Samaritan, the post-resurrection account of the lakeside breakfast and the best known verse in John’s Gospel provide critical considerations for us in times of crisis.

It was in answer to an astute lawyer’s question (“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”) that Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan which we are familiar with.¹ The question implies that what we do in a crisis has eternal significance. Jesus indicated that we must love God and our neighbors if we want to be embraced into God’s Presence. Desiring to “justify himself,” the lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus then tells the story of a man who is stripped, beaten and robbed on the treacherous road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Two religiously correct folks familiar with God-talk and clean living turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the plight and pleas of the bloodied and bruised man, choosing to “pass by on the other side.” We choose what we will do long before we act. The two men feel justified to leave the bleeding person to die. But, a despised and religiously compromised Samaritan who happens along, “takes pity” on the wounded person. The Samaritan, after dressing the man?s wound, ambulances him on his donkey to a bed and breakfast, leaving enough money for care and extended stay, as well as credit for exigencies.

Martin Luther King, Jr. observes the considerations in the different responses to this crisis of personal danger. The religious men pondered, “What will happen to me if I help the man?” Self preservation appears justifiable in situations when personal wellbeing is threatened. The result is to abandon the bludgeoned and flee to avoid suffering a similar fate. It is easy to find justification for such response.

In contrast, the Samaritan asks, “What will happen to him if I don’t help?” Compassionate responses do not need religious cloaks. Such reasoning emanates from the heart of God, and is echoed where His image is found. It leads to action deserving eternal life since such consideration originates from His Presence. “Do this and you will live,” Jesus indicates. He concludes, “Go and do likewise.” In every crisis of personal danger, self-preservation must give way to merciful and compassionate action. Theorizing (or theologizing) and talking alone are just not adequate.

In the resurrection narratives, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene in the Garden, to His disciples cowering in fear, and to Thomas who needs physical evidence to believe that Jesus has risen from the dead. When Thomas is finally convinced, Jesus says, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”² Among the appearances and miracles designed to inspire faith, there is an episode where Peter and several others go out fishing.³ Laboring all night, the veteran fishermen catch nothing. Early the next morning, Jesus appears unrecognized to them and instructs, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some fish.” When they do, they haul in the largest catch of their lives!

Here is a crisis of provision. Those who are competent are inclined to think that their success is the result of their ability. But, when we fail in our arena of expertise, and we don’t know how our needs will be met, we can end up depressed and anxious. Our faith depletes fast when we see a vast ocean and no fish. In those anguished moments when we have nothing to show for our labor, when our reserves are exhausted and when we cannot meet our obligations, we need the Presence of the One who creates out of nothing. When our security is based primarily on profits and assets, we lose sight of the real source of our provision. When we are in situations that require a resurrection, we need the Presence of our Resurrected Savior. He is the One who provides. He has been sustaining us even when we do not recognize His hand.

He always provides more than our nets can hold. That’s why self-preservation and hoarding in times of crisis are an affront to God. He is capable of sustaining His creation, more so the pinnacle of His creation. What is required is obedience. We need to follow His instructions, especially in our field of expertise. Only then will we experience abundance.

When God blesses it always overflows. Peter and his friends haul in a full load of big fish, all 153 of them. That’s abundance of quantity and quality. God does not give to us the way some of us give to charity. He does not dispense leftovers. When He invites us to breakfast, it’s not fast or junk food. Breakfast by the lake with Jesus involves choice fresh fish, fresh bread and a slow burning coal fire. This miracle is to inspire belief when there is no evidence in line of sight. A crisis of provision challenges our faith in God the Provider. Most of us would rather have a healthy credit or balance in our bank to believe that God provides. But faith, after all, is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”⁴ Small wonder Jesus reminds Thomas that those who believe without tangible evidence are blessed.

Finally, in the mother of all crises – that of eternal destiny, John the evangelist lays out God’s strategy: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”⁵ In the Ultimate Crisis, God modeled a resolution that serves as a template for action in all life’s crises. God gave. He did not withhold, but opened His heart and hand. Only when God gives do we have a Savior to cleanse us from sin so we can be embraced into God’s family. Without His giving, we would be damned.

In a crisis, it is natural for fallen humanity to withhold and to resort to self preservation. But, God gives at great personal cost so the need can be met. In the contour of every crisis, only when a resource is shared can the need be met. Usually we give only when we have surplus. But, God gives His “one and only Son.” If we are self-focused we will never share, no matter how rich we are. There is a fine line between the virtue of frugality and the perversion of accumulation. That judgment can only be made in the court of heaven and in our own hearts. But when love rules our hearts, we will unlock our resources, no matter how little we have. In giving, we reflect God. And, God never leaves us empty when we give all there is in our reserves. He promises, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.”⁶ Giving turns on the tap of supply. It is more difficult to see that in an economic recession. Faith is required to experience God’s Provision in good times as well as in lean seasons. When we live the miracle of God’s generous blessings, it will be quite natural to follow God’s actions in the face of needs around us. And, God’s Presence will be evident in the darkest of human experiences. As the dark clouds of economic storms gather, let’s ponder hard on these considerations that have eternal consequences. Don’t waste a crisis!

1. Luke 10:25-37
2. John 20:29
3. John 21:1-14
4. Hebrews 11:1
5. John 3:16
6. Luke 6:38

Peter Chao is the Founder-President of Eagles Communications.

The New International Version of the Bible has been referenced.