“…. God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
“a particularly timely example of giving to support Kingdom causes – a Christmas favorite of my family is the Lottie Moon Offering. The Lottie Moon Offering is used to fund missionaries who take the gospel to unreached people every day.“
Tis the season for giving! Giving Tuesday urged us to support our favorite charities. We are all in search of the perfect gift for our friends and family members. The topic of GIVING is front of mind in the month of December. We all want to give the perfect gift – giving exactly what the recipient needs and want. Shouldn’t the same be true of our monetary gifts?
Consider Jesus’ healing of the paralyzed man (Mark 2: 1-12). You remember this story – a few friends brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus for healing. The crowds were so great that the men lowered their paralyzed friend down through the roof. And when Jesus saw their faith, the paralytic was healed. At least, that’s often how we remember the story. We warmly think of friends who cared so much for their hurting pal. We remember “he took his mat and walked.” BUT there’s an important component of this story that I left out here. The scripture says, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” WHAT? The friends brought him for healing. (And we won’t even go into what the “teachers of the law” thought about this.)
My reflection on this story at this giving season is to focus on what Jesus did for this paralytic. He first forgave the man’s sins and then Jesus healed. First, he dealt with spiritual needs and then he turned to the man’s physical needs. How can this impact our giving decisions? There are many worthwhile causes and many needs in our community, state, nation and world. How do we choose? How do we choose Kingdom causes? Is God glorified? Is Jesus preached? Are needs met?
Consider the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. It was gut wrenching to see pictures, and everyone wanted to do something to help! How do we give wisely? How do we support Kingdom causes? As an example, we could give to the American Red Cross – they provide disaster relief and raised lots of money for those impacted. And the American Red Cross does meet physical needs of those impacted. But is there a better answer? How about an organization that meets physical needs AND shares Jesus? You still have your choice of organizations such as Samaritans Purse or the Virginia Baptist Disaster Response team or many more. So, a $100 gift to the American Red Cross could buy $100 of bottled water – meeting an essential physical need. Or you could give $100 to Samaritan’s Purse where it would be used to buy $100 of bottled water. However, the bottled water would be delivered with a message of the hope of Jesus – meeting physical and even more important spiritual needs.
And a particularly timely example of giving to support Kingdom causes – a Christmas favorite of my family is the Lottie Moon Offering. The Lottie Moon Offering is used to fund missionaries who take the gospel to unreached people every day. 100% of the gifts to the Lottie Moon Offering go directly to the mission field – bringing tangible help through medical supplies, clean water, and the life-transforming message of the gospel to thousands. Following Jesus’ example, meeting spiritual needs and physical needs – truly caring for people. Learn more at https://www.imb.org/generosity/lottie-moon-christmas-offering/
As you consider giving to others, I challenge you to give fully to the work of the Lord! (1 Corinthians 15:58.)
