In church yesterday, the pastor posed this problem: "We say that we trust God and put him first in our lives, yet when it comes to money, do we trust him enough to give it all away?" And, it's so true. How often do we look at our wallets and think we cannot manage to muster up that 10% to give to God, because we NEED that money. Just as we need that sleep, the thought of having to wake up at 4AM to move houseboats for the group seems rough. But, we realize that when we give it all to God, He returns our obedience one-hundred fold! So, back to the church story. The offering plates come around and I'm thinking about what the pastor had just said. I know I have more money than I need in my wallet, yet something (maybe something a little Satan-like) is telling me that I should save that money because I NEED it. Well, anyway, I decided to give 'more than I thought I could.' Afterwards, I'm walking out to the car and reach in my pocket for my car key. Low and behold, the exact amount of money I had put into the plate was in my pocket... And to hammer this point in that we can never outgive God, there is no physically feasible way that this amount of money would have been in my pocket.
As I look toward the summer, I think about the sacrifices I will have to make to be out there. Everyone is pushing me to get an internship or a job to pay off the debts/loans. But, God keeps telling me that when I serve Him, He will provide. And He always does.
As I think about the lack of sleep I will get this summer, or the lack of family-time, or friend-time, or whatever it may be, I look at Christ humbled on the cross. He is hanging there, bleeding, suffocating, looking me straight in the eye. He tells me that although there may be pain in the night, the joy comes in the morning! Although he physically suffers now, how great will the joy be when he is resurrected? Christ humbly dies to glorify God, to save humanity, to show love for God and for people. He paid it all. Yet, I sit here and 'worry' that I won't get into the med school I 'NEED' to get into because I chose to serve the Lord, rather than shadow a doctor. Or whatever the 'sacrifice' may be. But! What was the outcome of Christ's sacrifice on the cross? Much greater than anything. When the poor woman gave two copper coins and the rich man gave extravagantly, Jesus said that woman has put in more than the rest. Do we want to be the rich man who gives a lot, but still has more to give? Or, do we want to be the poor woman who gives all she has, so that at the end of the summer we are able to say, 'Yeah, I served my heart out. I gave it all I had. I did this because God first loved me.' My prayer for all of us this week is that we would put in those 2 copper coins, put OUR LIVES into the SERVING PLATE OF LIFE, because Christ gave his life for us.
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