“Then Moses gave an
order and they sent this word throughout the camp: ‘No man or woman is to make
anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.’” Exodus 36:6
When was the last time your pastor stood up on Sunday and
said, “We’re not going to pass the plate today because last week’s offering was
more than enough!”?? I haven’t heard
that one either and most likely won’t because ministry expenses are ongoing,
but it has been neat to see several times where a specific project has been
fully funded very fast due to the extreme generosity of God’s people.
Our country is obsessed with extremes. We have extreme sports, extreme reality TV, and
extreme flavors of food(coffee potato chips—really??), but we rarely hear of
extreme giving, extreme sharing, or extreme sacrifice—especially when it comes
to God-stuff. However, since God is the one
who “so loved that He gave” and since
He sacrificed acutely beyond what we can imagine, extreme generosity is the
appropriate response.
After the Israelites had been rescued from Egypt and restored
following their unfaithfulness at Mt. Sinai, they responded to Moses’ request
for tabernacle building supplies with tremendously big hearts. They brought so much stuff—gold, silver,
bronze, leather, fine linens, wood, oil, and jewels—and “continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning” until
the carpenters “left what they were doing
and said to Moses, ‘The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work
the Lord commanded to be done’”(Ex 36:4-5). The offering was so awesome that Moses gave an
instruction to stop giving!! “And so the people were restrained from
bringing more, because what they already had was more than
enough to do all the work”(Ex 36:7).
Don’t miss the word “restrained.” The people were so willing to share that it
took effort for them to stop. We should
pray for a heart that finds it hard not to give—not one that struggles to
share. And when it comes to us today, this topic touches way more than money. Yes,
we should give generously to God’s work in our churches and to various missions
and ministries and to do this we should live lifestyles that enable us to give back
to God first before paying necessary bills and fulfilling not-so-necessary desires,
but sometimes writing a check is the easy way out. When it comes to extreme generosity, I’m not
just talking about our stuff but also about ourselves. I’m not only meddling with our treasures but
also with our time, our talents, and how willing we are to share the truth of
the gospel.
We are so blessed with so much. Everything we have materially and spiritually
is a result of God’s grace. We are His,
and it’s all His. He has just handed us some
of “His stuff” to employ and enjoy for our few years here on earth. Use it well.
Invest it wisely (i.e. eternally).
And give it away with extreme generosity.
Hold on loosely and do let go.
Since it’s not really our stuff to start with, we should
be happy to share it easily and often.
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