When my brother and I were in primary school, I was mortified one week that Mama had only one nickel for the two of us to put into the Sunday School offering. Was it pride in my six year old heart, or longing to give more?
As a young adult, Daddy and I had conversations, sometimes quite intense, about why the church had to have annual pledge drives. Eventually, my 1970s anti-establishment thinking collided with the reality that churches have to pay the light bill, too.
What does offering mean to you, Dear Reader? Is it limited to a monetary gift we put in the plate? Or can it be something more?
What does offering mean to you, Dear Reader? Is it limited to a monetary gift we put in the plate? Or can it be something more?
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
Psalm 96:8 RSV
Over the years, I've learned that offering can mean many things. I've also learned bringing an offering into God's court is for our benefit, not God's. But not just any offering. Jesus showed us early in his ministry that even our offerings in the courts of our Heavenly Father can be tainted.
When the Passover Feast, celebrated each spring by the Jews, was about to take place, Jesus traveled up to Jerusalem. He found the Temple teeming with people selling cattle and sheep and doves. The loan sharks were also there in full strength.
15-17 Jesus put together a whip out of strips of leather and chased them out of the Temple, stampeding the sheep and cattle, upending the tables of the loan sharks, spilling coins left and right. He told the dove merchants, “Get your things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a shopping mall!”
John 2: 14-16 MSG
Over time, the story of the widow's mite became richer and deeper, teaching me that our devotion far outweighs the amount of our offerings.
43 Jesus called his followers to him and said, “This poor widow put in only two small coins. But the truth is, she gave more than all those rich people. 44 They have plenty, and they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had. It was money she needed to live on.”
Mark 12: 41-44 ERV
Did God need the widow's mite? Of course not, just like He didn't need all the critters the merchants were trying to foist unto unsuspecting pilgrims to the Temple.
Perhaps what brought pleasure to the Lord, and the woman, was her offering of devotion and obedience. The widow's humble offering was her way of "ascrib(ing) to the Lord the glory due his name".
My pragmatic brain finally figured out that God doesn't need our checks and debit cards. He's prepared for us a place where, "The street of the city was made of pure gold, as clear as glass." (Revelation 12:21) God doesn't need us to float Him a loan.
For me, the purpose of our offerings isn't to fill God's coffers, but to enrich our relationships with Him. Our greatest offerings are those given with humility, obedience, and devotion to our Heavenly Father.
Perhaps what brought pleasure to the Lord, and the woman, was her offering of devotion and obedience. The widow's humble offering was her way of "ascrib(ing) to the Lord the glory due his name".
My pragmatic brain finally figured out that God doesn't need our checks and debit cards. He's prepared for us a place where, "The street of the city was made of pure gold, as clear as glass." (Revelation 12:21) God doesn't need us to float Him a loan.
For me, the purpose of our offerings isn't to fill God's coffers, but to enrich our relationships with Him. Our greatest offerings are those given with humility, obedience, and devotion to our Heavenly Father.
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