2 Corinthians 8
I was on Staten
Island with a group of pastors. It was Sunday morning we were worshiping
with a church full of African immigrants.
They didn’t have heat in most of their
building, so people came wrapped in heavy drab coats. They smiled warmly and
greeted us as honored guests. When we entered the sanctuary though we found it
heated, and the drab outer layers began to be shed revealing people dressed in
beautiful clothes and bright colors. Many of the ladies wore dresses as if they
were going to a wedding or prom. A good number of men and women had bright
suits of kente cloth. The contrast of bright and dark around the room was
beautiful.
The service had all the parts one would
expect: announcements, invocation, scripture readings, sermon and hymns were
all part of what we did that morning, although done with their own ethnic
flavor. However, when we got to the offering - that was different! The music
started soft and slow and people filed forward to drop an offering in one of
the wicker laundry baskets on the altar. The music quickened and people began
to sway and some of the older ladies danced forward with their offerings. Eventually
the music had a real strong tempo and people all over the church were dancing
and coming forward, some of them multiple times, to bring their offering to the
Lord. Most of these people were not rich, but when it came time to give to the
Lord they considered it time for celebration.
Paul encouraged us to grow in the grace
of giving. I don’t know that we often think of giving as a grace – an
expression of God’s love for us. We seem to see it as paying our dues, helping
pay the mortgage, or something like that. However, giving is an expression of
worship – receiving all that we have from God’s hand and then responding to Him
in joy and thanksgiving. It conveys
our faith and confidence in the Father as our creator, in Jesus as our savior,
and the Holy Spirit as our comforter when we give. If we saw it that way, maybe
we would dance and celebrate as we return to the Lord and offer him sacrifices
of praise and thanksgiving.
Heavenly Father, all that I have is from
You. Help me to recognize and remember
that with joy and gratitude. Because You
have blessed me, I have something to return to You in worship. Not that the blessing is my greatest good,
but You are, O Lord, my savior and provider.
Amen.
Comments