THOSE WHO GATHER ALL

Some might view today's focus as an encouragement to be greedy, but the opposite is the intention.

Because most of the world would leave most of what should have been theirs unused and potentially wasted, the minority who would achieve the allotted quota of success should do the world a favour and gather everything within sight, as they would eventually need to sustain and support others with their excess. This mindset is not about accumulation, but about personal growth and spiritual development.

'And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance. ' - Joshua 18:2 (KJV)

' And there remained among the Israelites seven tribes who had not yet divided their inheritance. ' - Joshua 18:2 (AMPC)

'But there remained seven tribes who had not yet been allotted their grants of land. ' - Joshua 18:2 (NLT)

Looking at the verse of scripture referenced above from three different translations of the bible, one gets the feeling that the hold upon taking possession of their guaranteed allotment was because of someone else's incompetence or irresponsibility until Joshua cleared things up in the next verse:

' Joshua asked the Israelites, How long will you be slack to go in and possess the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?' - Joshua 18:3

Most people have the "enough" mindset, where their adrenaline boost begins to wane the moment they start approaching their 'enough' limit, which is a self-determined metric for each individual. So, those whose limit is to tick the first two boxes in Maslow's hierarchy of needs leave most of their lot in life untouched, hence the need for those who gather all.

Jesus had to instruct the disciples to gather the remnant because the 'enough' mindset doesn't think of the future as long as their needs have been satisfied.

' When they had all had enough, He said to His disciples, Gather up now the fragments (the broken pieces that are left over), so that nothing may be lost and wasted.' - John 6:12

Knowing most of their brethren wouldn't come close to their target, and since they had cultivated the right mindset and, among other skills, the tribe of Judah took more than their share, putting them in the position to accommodate another tribe.

'Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them. ' - Joshua 19:9 (KJV)

The 'Gather All' mindset keeps one in pursuit of a vision; it keeps an athlete, a salesperson, or a tech developer working harder even when all competition has been vanquished and all set goals achieved. As long as there is room to improve, beat one's own record, and achieve more than one sets out to do, then why stop? This relentless pursuit of improvement is what keeps us motivated and driven.

It is the product of a mind conditioned to take everything someone can take.

The faith of God, which is at work in every believer, is one of the components of agape, that fruit of the human spirit cultivated by the Holy Spirit. So, that faith will never be satisfied until it has taken all that is up for the taking, enabling its possessor to show the love of God to those who will fall short. This faith is what connects us all and drives our generosity.

May God grant you the grace to be in this exclusive number of those who gather all in Jesus' mighty name.

#Amen