Yesterday as the collection plate was passed, an interesting thought came to my mind. Many of us wear or have worn these bracelets that have W.W.J.D. (What Would Jesus Do?). As the plate went by, I thought, "What Would Jesus Give?" Would he place a nail in the plate? Would it be His crown of thorns? Or would He place money in? You know He said to give to Caesar what is Caesar and to God what is God's. Maybe He'd just give Himself. That's what He did, didn't He. And when I thought of that, it made me realize how little I really give. It reminded me of a song we used to sing:
I gave my life for thee,
My precious blood I shed,
That thou might'st ransomed be,
And quickened from the dead;
I gave, I gave my life for thee:
What hast thou giv'n for me?
His life, my few bucks. What a contrast. What a sacrifice He made. How little sacrifice I make.
2 comments:
Powerful.
What Would We Give?
As a minister and missionary have seen over the last several months memers contributions go down dramatically because of the current state of the economy. I have suffered as well as many of my missionary friends. I have seen a dramatic decline and even had $400 a month cease because of the economy. One of my friends that is a minister has not recieved a pay check in 2 months from his supporting congregation. As Americans we need to understand that we are still the wealthiest country in the world.
I am not sure if believers don't know that God should get the first and desires the best. I know and udnerstand that giving must come from the heart. I struggle with asking do Christians give just because it is something that we do on Sundays? Is it ritual? If we had a choice to go see a movie on Saturday night and don't give to the Lord on Sunday do we understand? How do we use our money?
I have a question for you: Do you think we as pastors stress the importance of giving our first and best in His Church? Do we stress and encourage our fellow brothers and sister to sacrifice? You think of it Jesus Christ was willing to give his all. It is my prayer for all believers to give especially during the hard times that we are facing right now.
I want to thank you Jim for dealing with this important topic. God bless you, your family and ministry. You are making a kingdom difference! :-)
No, I don't think we stress that enough. I have a friend who said when he receives his paycheck, his first check is his contribution check. Then, he writes the rest. He understands first fruits far better than I. Thanks for the comments.
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