How much of our giving is really getting?
How much of our offering is really receiving?
And if our giving is getting and our offering is receiving, is it really counted as righteous, counted as cost?
Us lovers of Christ are to be, should really, be a reflection of Christ. Oh but we get it so wrong.
We give to help the hurting yet walk away ourselves with our own hands or our own stomachs full.
Christ gave to have His very self poured out. And the emptying of Himself did not stop Him from giving it all.
What if all this that we are getting for giving was instead given to those hungry, hurting and those whose souls were as thirsty as their parched mouths? What if we truly reached out as Jesus did, to touch and to heal and to give of ourselves instead of reaching out to take back? How many lives would be turned right around? How many souls would be satisfied?
We hand over our portion set aside yet still have more than enough for ourselves. We live hand in hand with the lost, the broken, the desolate and weary yet we fail to notice. We fail to see and fail to care all while claiming to be a missionary, a minister, a Christ-lover. Oh, we have it all wrong.
Instead of asking “What would Jesus do?” why don’t we set aside our opinion and ask “What did Jesus do?” Because if Christ is who we claim, then Christ should be who we seek.
Jesus didn’t love from a distance, He walked alongside the least of these.
Jesus reached out and touched the untouchable leper. He saw the soul behind the wounds.
Jesus allowed the outcast to come right up beside Him and He healed, taught and poured out.
And when the time came to give it all, He sweat drops of blood as He cried to His Father to remove the cup. But when the cup remained, He drank it full. He paid the price.
In return He received nails and a crown of thorns.
When His offering was placed on the cross He didn’t walk away with….
a “free” book
a baked good
candy
soup
a filled basket
pride
a boost in ego
a tax write off.
But we do. And we claim it as Christ-like.
But what if when we gave and received if we’d give again? What if that “free” book was prayed over and given to a lost soul? What if that baked good was given to the family struggling to feed a table full? What if that candy was placed in the hands of a child whose parents shamefully say no at the check out because they can’t afford more than the apples and ramen noodles? What if the soup was placed in a bowl of the elderly couple whose frail hands and trembling legs can’t much stand to cook a healthy meal? What if the basket was given as a thank you to the teller or the cashier or the waitress? What if the pride and boost of ego was traded for the giving of more until humility sets in? And what if the tax write off was matched to give once more?
What if we gave before there was something in return to receive?
What if we met a need before it was seen by most?
Us lovers of Christ can be used by Christ to really be like Christ. We have the ability to reach a lost and broken world if we should set aside ourselves long enough to not get in the way. Our God who is all-knowing has things to show us, things He needs our eyes to see. He wants us that claim Jesus to live with eyes open, not willfully blinded. He has hurting hearts that need His healing touch through us. He has uncharted territory for us to walk, as His feet, to reach lost and lonely souls in need of a Savior.
What if our giving was really just that, giving?
And what if our offering was what it should be, like that of Christ’s, a sacrifice?
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth.” 1 John 3:16-19 NIV
“Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves.” 1 John 3:16 MSG
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