THE OTHER SIDE OF GIVING… A GREATER PURPOSE Sept. 2019
Reference: Genesis 15: 1-18
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, [a]your exceedingly great reward.”2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I [b]go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one[c] born in my house is my heir!”4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.7 Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”8 And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall [d]go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, ….
Key verses 9- 11
On the surface, it would seem on the other side of giving, is receiving, but there is the side of a greater purpose. Giving is important to God. He gave, so that mankind could be redeemed.
Often when we think of giving, Luke 6: 38 comes to mind. Therefore, we give with reciprocity in mind. It’s a natural expectation. Yet, there is a greater good.
In Mark 12: 41- 44, we are told of the widow who gave what was the equivalent of the smallest Roman coin. Jesus observed and emphasized, not only the act of giving, but also, the heart of giving. In everything that we do, Jesus has a perspective. One that is entirely different from ours. What was so special about the widow’s act? It was the motive behind her gift. The commendable thing was the sacrificial wrapping that covered her gift.
Of all the places that Jesus could have sat in the Temple, He chose to sit beside the offering receptacle. His purpose was to get a close-up view of how the money was deposited. Jesus placed importance in the way the gifts were placed in the receptacle.
The crowd included many wealthy givers. Of their abundance, they gave without having to lack anything as a result of their giving. We can well imagine that the norm was to try to out-give each other. No doubt, they gave silent offerings, that were noticed by each other. Jesus also took note of the activity. Probably, this widow dug in her purse until she found the last two coins and decided she would relinquish all. There was no husband to fill the gap later, but her intent was to give what she had.
What difference could two mites make in the offering? From Jesus’ perspective she gave 100%. That, in comparison to the rich, was an abundance. We know that Jesus cared enough about that aspect of giving, in that He brought it to the attention of the disciples.
When we focus on the heart that propels our gift, Jesus acknowledges it. It was the responsibility of the elders to provide for the needs of widows. Yet, we find her being concerned about helping to replenish the store basket of the Temple. That’s one side of giving that is noteworthy to Jesus. We don’t know the widow’s thought process, but she was prepared to give out of her insufficiency. There was no inner conflict. She determined not to appear before the Lord, with an empty hand.
The honor of widows is the responsibility of the church. Therefore, Jesus honored her and her gift, as a lesson for the disciples. May we also absorb that concept. She grasped the privilege that was available to everyone in the Temple.
When we realize that our giving, should be as unto The Lord, that realization enhances not only, the spreading of the gospel, but also, our relationship with God. We cannot purchase God’s favor (Acts 8: 18-23). On the other side of giving is the reality that we are deemed worthy to participate in God’s reward system.
He seeks willing givers who expect to be recompensed. Can we expand our imagination to see an outpouring of blessings from the windows of heaven? He gives us exceedingly abundantly more than we can accommodate. His measuring cup cannot be compared with anything we envision. Since HE fills the earth, our gift is miniscule in comparison to His resources. Our obedience is tested and rewarded when we choose to place our gifts in God’s hand.
“To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.” (Isaac Newton… gravity). Not so with God. He surpasses us. He is an excellent Mathematician who specializes in exponential multiplication. We should feel privileged to be chosen to share in God’s economy. The Creator has the responsibility of rebuking everything that is positioned to devour what is available to us, but we must follow His guidelines.
In Malachi 3: 10-11, we are reminded to give with the end in mind: that the needs of His house will be met. If we follow that plan, we will reap the benefits that are on the other side of our giving:
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We assist in supplying resources in the church.
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We will prove God to stand behind His word.
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We will have endless blessing
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The enemy shall not destroy our resources.
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The attitude with which we give, becomes a memorial before the Lord.
Are we prepared to explore the possibilities that our inheritance proposes? That is the reason that we are told to give. We have a broad view of our gift, but it converges into a focal point of trust in God. How does giving correlate with trust? The harmony of relinquishing the gift and confidence in God’s promises demonstrates our faith. How did two fish and five loaves feed over 5,000 people? They were surrendered in faith. The crowd may have had doubts as to the obvious impossibility, but the Miracle Worker brought increase anyway. In the disciples’ hands the bread and fish began to multiply after Jesus gave thanks and distributed them. Why did Andrew mention the lunch if he knew it was insufficient for even two people?
The exchange aspect of giving is that we enter a covenant. Not with the recipient, but with God. He is the one who gave us promises with regard to our giving. In Genesis 15: 4- 11, when Abram believed God that his offspring would be as innumerable as the stars, his trust was regarded as righteousness. Then God asked of Abram, a sacrifice. Abram obeyed and offered. The fact that he offered did not make his offering exempt from attempted devourers, so he protected the sacrifice and entered a covenant with God.
A covenant is an agreement between men or between men and God. Noah (Genesis 9:13), Abraham (Genesis 17:2), Moses (Exodus 19:5) and others (Hebrews 13:20-21) have given us testimonies about this covenant-keeping God. Why not prove Him to be consistent? God esteems His word above His powerful, magnificent Name, which is a hiding place, and causes demons to tremble. We become recipients of His promises if we uphold our end of the contract.
Doubt, murmuring, discontent and/or contemplating about how our gift will be used, are some of the fowls that try to consume the faith with which our gift is covered. Our task is to drive those devourers from our mind and allow God to accept the gift.
In everything that Jesus asks us to do, He makes prior provision. On this side of giving, our hands are extended to release our offering. With that gesture, we also release what happens to it. Hopefully, we share the joy of knowing that we have purposed to influence ministries and become conduits of blessing. It is reasonable to believe that He only asks us to give out of His providence.
According to Luke 6:38, men shall give to us. Why then do we, at times, refuse to accept gifts from our fellow men? In so doing, we curtail their blessing, shortchange them and place a dam in what should be the flow. Visualize poured out things directed towards us, coming from the windows of heaven. Consider the source…an endless supply. It doesn’t just happen. It starts with our motive for giving.
God entrusts us with whatever we have. Therefore, He wants us to be channels. Otherwise, we will stagnate and be of no benefit, not even to ourselves. Since God provides for us, we always have something to give. The concern arises when we bring our leftovers. If we are offered that, we feel insulted. To give to God first, is an honorable virtue to be endowed with. We get to show Him how we feel about Him. In essence, we are demonstrating that we value the relationship we share with the King of kings.
This other side of giving is an eye opener as to the role we play in God’s eyes. He trusts us enough to let us have 100% to begin with and then asks us to entrust Him with 10%. We get to keep all of 90%. Are we trustworthy enough not to disappoint Him?
Giving serves a greater purpose than releasing something tangible. It propels us to obedience; speaks to faith in, and trust of God; strengthens the Father-child relationship; embellishes our expectation to receive; and it should be a cherished privilege to partner with God. Let’s keep THE GREATER PURPOSE IN GIVING, in mind, when next we participate in that aspect of worship.
Dr. O. A. James
REFLECTION
What is the temperature of our Giving Thermometer?