being a channel

I've been challenged lately by the concept of being a 'channel', especially since the AIDSLink worshops were entitled 'Channels of Hope'. This excerpt from Volf's latest book unpacks the idea...

"Pull apart the idea of being the channel of God's gifts, and you'll see that it involves three intentions on God's part. One concerns us, the givers. Another concerns the gifts themselves. And the third concerns the recipients: our neighbours.

Take, first, God's intention for us. As channels, we exist not just to enjoy things but to pass them on. Our purpose is twofold: to flourish ourselves and to help others flourish. After God called Abraham, God gave him a double promise. The first was: 'I will bless you'; the second was: I will make you to 'be a blessing' (Genesis 12:1-3). The same double blessing is given to us. If we just enjoy good things without passing them on, if we are blessed without being a blessing, then we fail in our purpose as channels. We are givers because we are made that way, and if we don't give, we are at odds with ourselves.

God's second intention concerns the gifts themselves, whether they are material goods (like food or shelter) or immaterial things (like ideas), whether they are skills (like the ability to play music) or capacities (like the brute strength of muscles). To the extent that we are their intended final recipients, we should enjoy them and benefit from them. They are the stuff of God's blessing to us. These gifts are given to us to please us and, in a sense, to do with as we please.

To the extent that we are channels of gifts, however, we can't just do with them as we please. They come to us with an ultimate name and address other than our own. Though in our hands, they are on their way elsewhere. The acts of enjoying the gifts ourselves while still passing them on often coincide, as when we play music in the company of others or discuss a fascinating issue with friends. We then enjoy what we give. But at other times, we must decide whether we should enjoy or give, as when locusts devastate crops in Mauritania and I can either purchase a new bike or give a donation to help relieve a dire need.

Finally, being a channel involves God's intentions for our neighbours. Things I am given are not just mine. Even if they are in my hands, some of them belong to my neighbours in need. I have an obligation to pass them on. If I block the flow of God's gifts, I haven't just failed the giving God; I've also failed the intended recipients. They have a right to the gifts, and I have the obligation to give. Both their right and my obligation rest on God's giving these things to me to pass them on."

Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace (Zondervan, 2005), p. 60-1.