Pastor's
Message
by the Rev. Dr. Marcia Cox
I recently heard a humorous prayer "Dear Lord, it is difficult
to tithe. Please adjust my income so that tithing would be easier.
In Jesus' name we pray...Amen.
Obviously nobody would want to have their pastor pray such a prayer
in their behalf! However, it does give us a moment to think about giving.
We call this the "season to give"...yet we as Christians
are called to give in and out of season.
True giving is a matter of sacrifice...which in turn will help
our faith grow. Imagine doubling or tripling the offering we planned
for this Sunday. Where would we get the money? Most of us would have
to rearrange our priorities to make such a change in our giving patterns.
We think nothing of tipping someone who has served us 15-20% and yet
statistics tell us that the "average" Christian would have
to triple her or his giving to reach 10% (a biblical expectation).
This "reckless" giving would challenge us to find out what
it is like to be dependant more on God for our value and worth than
our checkbooks. Imagine what life would be like if we re-ordered our
priorities this "season of giving" around the One who died
so that we might live; around the Love that lives so that we will never
die.
That is our privilege. That is our blessing. That, ultimately, is
our reason for practicing real giving...giving that is generous,
sacrificial and, yes, priority-rearranging. It comes from the love
of God who gave first, last, and in-between for us.
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