Giving it all

Giving doesn't come easy to me, and if we're honest, many of us. Don't get me wrong, I/we give, but sometimes it is with a sense of duty, that we must because we're Christians, or a feeling that somehow we can buy our way into heaven. Sometimes to be honest, I/we miss God's freeing grace for us in our giving through a misunderstanding of what He wants from us.

This coming weekend, 1st March, is the first of two ‘Special Offering’ Sundays, the second being on the 8th March.  What better opportunity to take a quick look at what God has to say about our giving.

When Jesus speaks to His disciples about the heart of a giver He tells the story of a poor widow.  When Jesus speaks to us, His disciples, He uses the same story found in Mark 12.  It reads:

”...Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.  Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.  Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury more than all the others.  They gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on.’”

What an awe inspiring story. The profound hidden reality of this story is two fold:

1.    Jesus has given everything so that we might have everything.

The blood that Jesus shed on the cross has paid the wages of my sin, meaning I have no debt to pay to God - it is already paid!  I cannot buy my way into heaven with my cash - He has already paid for it.  The story teaches us that whatever I choose to give to God and His church has no bearing on whether or not He forgives me, blesses or loves me.  This means I am free to give without guilt, pressure or duty.  I am free to give with joy, without a hidden agenda of settling a debt.

2.    Jesus has given everything so that we might give everything.

Our only response, given the price paid for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is to give our everything.  The widow didn’t give what she could afford, the surface scraps of her lifestyle, she “put in everything - all she had to live on”.  Does this mean I have to put all my wages and bank balance into the offering bowl?  No!  It means that God wants my heart to be trusting in Him, not my bank manager.  He wants me to trust Him for my rent, my food, my spending money and even my giving.  Ultimately, Jesus is asking His disciples to trust in Him, and give Him everything.

So, how much should I give this weekend?
The short answer, for some of us rather uncomfortably, is everything - my whole life!  The old hymn writer put it like this: “Take my life, let it be, consecrated Lord to Thee”.  I pray this week that God would be receiving our whole lives.  That we would trust Him with everything including our wallets and bank balances and that He would impart faith in us to pray for money we don’t have and give everything we do have, remembering that it’s about us joyfully giving ourselves to God of which our finances are only a part!