It is a powerful story,
recorded in the book of Chronicles, a book in the Bible that few people read. It tells the
story of how the people of Israel all supported with their offerings the
building of the Temple. They did this not because the King had commanded them,
but because they chose to, each giving freely:
“Then the leaders of ancestral houses made their
freewill-offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of
the thousands and of the hundreds, and the officers over the king’s work. They
gave for the service of the house of God …the people rejoiced because these had
given willingly, for with single mind they had offered freely to the Lord.”
Giving, sharing, offering – these are not
obligations, they are opportunities for us to respond to God’s goodness to us.
When we bring our offerings and our tithes we are returning to God a portion of
what God has given to us. We should rejoice as we bring our offerings freely
and willingly.
As he watched the people bring their offerings
forward, King David marveled and asked, “But who am I, and what is my
people, that we should be able to make this freewill-offering? For all things
come from you, and of your own have we given you. … O Lord our God, all
this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy
name comes from your hand and is all your own.”
We are taught at an
early age to share: share our toys, our games. We learn the joy of sharing.
It’s easy to say “it’s mine and I am not sharing”, but that is neither godly
nor faithful.
All the things that we
do here at MPC in the name of Jesus Christ take resources: our time, our talent
and our treasure. None of these things can be done if we don’t share our time,
share the gifts we’ve been given by the Holy Spirit, and share financially in
what we do.
Love, Give, Grow:
joyfully, generously, thanking God for what we’ve been blessed with and then
sharing. “Those who are generous are blessed” says the Proverb (22:9).
And we are a blessed
congregation as we look ahead to our 148th year. We will worship, we
will learn, we will teach. We will celebrate joys together and comfort one
another in times of grief and sadness. We will pray together for ourselves, for
one another, and for the needs of all our neighbors, friend and stranger alike.
All these things we will
do eagerly and joyfully as children of God and disciples of our Lord Jesus
Christ. To God be the glory!
Grace & peace,
Pastor Skip
