I’m not sure my parents ever explained to me just why we put money in the offering plate at church. I don’t remember any rules about giving: to whom, how much, and how often. We gave pennies in the special birthday offering, according to the years of our age. We gave nickels and dimes in Sunday School, and my parents put bills in the offering plate in “big church.” I knew it all went to God, but I don’t think I ever thought about why He would want it! Now I understand that there are some very good reasons for giving found in Scripture, and a number of them turn out to be for my benefit!
-- Giving lays up treasure in heaven. Writing to his young colleague Timothy, the Apostle Paul said, “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (I Timothy 6:18, 19 NIV). Jesus taught the same thing in His ministry. Speaking to a rich young man who was seeking eternal life, He said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. . . Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21 NLT) I confess I don’t know exactly how this “sending stuff ahead” works, but since we cannot take it with us anyway when we depart this world, it makes sense to invest it in eternity!
-- Giving is the ultimate safe investment. "Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.” (Matthew 6:19-21 MSG)
-- Giving assures an earthly return as well. “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” (Luke 6:38 NLT) One of the powerful lessons I have learned in my maturing years as a Christian is that the return may not be from the person(s) who benefited from my gift. I kept expecting gratitude and the overflowing “lap” from the same source and it seldom, if ever, came. I expected the return to be in kind too, but that did not often happen either. God promises a return, but He is in charge of what and how and when! A second part of the same lesson is as familiar to us as the principle of planting and harvesting. What I give is enlarged, and what I get back is greater than I gave—although, again, it may not be of the same sort.
-- Giving is a way of encouraging another’s efforts, supporting them in what they are doing for God and good. “How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God.” (Philippians 4:10-11, 18 NLT)
-- Giving reflects my trustworthiness in spiritual matters. “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?” (Luke 16:10-11 NLT
-- Giving acknowledges God as my source and shows my gratitude. As long as there have been people on the earth, they have been bringing gifts to God. One beautiful expression is recorded in the Old Testament. “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession and you have conquered it and settled there, put some of the first produce from each crop you harvest into a basket and bring it to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. Go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, ‘With this gift I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land he swore to our ancestors he would give us’ . . . He brought us to this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey! And now, O Lord, I have brought you the first portion of the harvest you have given me from the ground.’ Then place the produce before the Lord your God, and bow to the ground in worship before him.” (Deuteronomy 26:1-4, 9, 10 NLT)
-- Giving brings honor to God. “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich [enriched] in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” (II Corinthians 9:10-12 NIV)
-- Giving is received by God Himself, even though we have offered it to meet a human need. When God sorts out rewards for those entering the heavenly Kingdom, He tells some, “I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.” They object, having never done those deeds. “Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.' “ (Matthew 25:35-36, 40 MSG)
The nature of God Himself is to give. Give—and watch what happens!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
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