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Wednesday, June 23, 2021

 

 OFFERING AS TRANSFORMATION AND THANKSGIVING

 

          How often do you experience the time of offering in church as either a hastily thrown out, almost apologetic time, or even a negative moment? I have to say, for me, too often.


          But the time of offering is as much an act of worship as prayer or sermon or song. Why don’t we treat it like that? Of course, the time of offering during a worship service is a time to share financial gifts that will allow God’s work to be done through that local church. But it must also be a time to offer ourselves to the glory of God and to be used by God.


          It can be a time of transformation. We are blessed by the grace of God. There is grace before we even know what it is; there is grace where we are pardoned, and there is the grace where we mature in our faith. That grace blesses us with everything. Everything we are and everything we have. We are transformed by God; we are transformed by grace; and that time, in church, where we offer ourselves over to God, can be a time of transformation.


          In addition to ourselves, we offer up a portion of what God has blessed us with. We aren’t giving our money to the church; we are sharing a small portion of what God has given us with the church so that God’s work continues and other lives are transformed. When we talk about giving our own stuff away, it starts to seem like a lot. But when we look at the fact that God has given us everything; and we can keep most of it to care for ourselves; giving a little bit back, 10% or more doesn’t seem like so much.


          Think of it like a basket of apples. There are ten apples. God asks that we give back the best apple for God to use; but God lets us keep the other nine to care for ourselves, our families, our homes and our lives. We can give thanks to God for that generosity, can we not?

          Our offering in church, or via online giving, or via a check put in the mail is done in thanksgiving to God. Let that moment, those moments, transform our lives!


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