Shortly after my father accepted Christ as his Savior, he entered the church to see a giant banner hanging over the podium. It read: “Are You A Tither?”
My dad, a newborn in Christ, asked someone, “What is a tither?” He rhymed the word with “hither,” having absolutely no idea what the word meant.
He would go on to gain great understanding of that word and the biblical concepts of tithing and sacrificial giving over the course of his life. Dad was an extraordinary giver, a man with a heart for service to God and to others. As he gave, God supplied beyond belief.
One of my favorite memories of dad has to do with he and my mother having dinner together on the evening before his passing. That night, they began to chat with their waitress and learned that she had dropped out of Liberty University for a time because of financial reasons. Dad told her he would help.
When that girl learned the next day that he had died, I’m sure she thought that her dream of returning to school also died.
But my mother did not forget her. Mom went to work to ensure that that young lady received a scholarship and helped her get back into school. Mom was committed to fulfilling dad’s promise to that girl.
God works through people who live for Him. That girl surely never dreamed that God would send Jerry Falwell into her life, but He did.
Let’s look for a moment at some great biblical principles on giving and see how our great God desires to work through us as we give, sacrifice and trust in Him.
In Psalm 24:1, a psalm of David, we read: “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.”
When we “give” to God, we are really not giving at all because everything already belongs to Him — everything in the entire world.
That’s why giving is such a fundamental part of the Christian life. What the world may see as foolish is a key for finding fulfillment in Christ — we trust Him and He supplies. It is an unfailing promise of God and we all need to trust Him more.
Our stewardship to Christ should not be obligatory or routine. We should give with hearts of utter joy and with expectations that God will use our time, talents and treasure in mighty ways. He wants to move in great ways and He is certainly capable of using us in avenues we can never imagine.
Remember how Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers? He could have become bitter and floundered through life in prison. Instead, Joseph lived honorably and would later become the overseer of Potiphar’s house and then all of Egypt. God did not forget him.
In Genesis 39:3, we see that Potiphar “saw that the Lord was with [Joseph], and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand” (NKJV). Because Joseph lived honorably (verse 6 calls him “a goodly person”), God took Joseph to great heights and he experienced true healing in his family.
Joseph lived beyond what he could see and what he had experienced because He trusted God. Certainly, we will have trials and troubles in life, but God wants to see us through in miraculous and humbling ways.
My desire is to trust Him and to see what He has in store for my life! I don’t want to be just a functional Christian. I want to see God at work in my life every day. If you are like me, ask Him to give you the confidence and faith to trust Him more. Ask Him to show you the areas in your life where you need to let go and allow Him to thrive.
May God bless you as you give of your time, talent and treasure to Him. Let’s live out our faith in boldness together and see what God can do through us in the days to come. Don’t forget, we are prayerfully asking God to help us reach ONE MILLION NEW DISCIPLES by 2025. I believe He has put this dream in my heart, so He will not forsake us as we work toward fulfilling this great dream.
Your friend in Christ,
