Two weeks ago we preached on the topic of giving from Ex 25-26. We saw that the reason the Israelites were so passionate about giving large amounts away was because of the importance of the Tabernacle. It was how the perfectly holy God was going to actually reside with his people. Whenever one of the Israelites came to the Tabernacle, they could say ‘I contributed towards this!’
Like the OT, the NT commands Christians to give a particular amount of our income to the church; though that amount is not stipulated. So how do we channel our passions in a way that we will treat our money the way God wants us to treat it (i.e. generously)? Well it is not by promising people that God will repay them tenfold in material prosperity. If we give to God only to receive more back, then we’re not actually giving to God at all. We’re giving to ourselves.
Rather, the way we get passionate about God’s kingdom is to remember how passionate he is about us. This is seen no more clearly than in 2 Cor 8:9, which says:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Jesus didn’t just give up a portion of his income to rescue us from Sin; he gave up everything. He left the comfort and security of heaven to suffer infinite pain on the cross for us. When we see Jesus’ passion for us, it should make us passionate about Him.
May we as a church prayerfully reflect on our giving this term. May our passion for God’s kingdom lead us to be even more generous than our OT counterparts, who only gave 10% of their income. And as we see God’s church grow upwardly and outwardly here at Earlwood Anglican, may we all be able to say ‘I contributed towards this’.
