THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

Today’s message is about giving to God. It is usually considered a sensitive subject even though it is not supposed to be. It is a part of the teaching that Our Lord Jesus gave before He went to Calvary. One of my favorite authors, C. S. Lewis has something to say about giving, “All our offerings, whether of music or martyrdom, are like intrinsically worthless present of a child, which a father values indeed, but values only for the intention.” Amen to that!

At the end of the day giving to God is not about the gift itself but rather about the HEART that gives it. We give to God even though He does not need anything from us. It is He after all who gives us everything, including our precious life. But, He commands us to give because He wants to give us a chance to give to Him. It should make us proud and happy to be able to give to Our Father.

Out of all the gifts I have received—which I deeply appreciate—there is one that stands out. It was a set of Koes Plus’ karaoke CD. It was given to me by a servant of God whom I greatly respect. The reason why it stands out among all the gifts I have received is simply because it was given by someone, whom I knew, was poor. He knew that I liked Koes Plus songs, so he decided to get a set of their music and gave it to me. He gave out of poverty and love.

There is nothing that can move God’s heart to tears than to receive a gift from us, His children, out of love and poverty. When He receives it, He knows beyond any doubt that we truly love Him. And, because we love Him, we just want to make Him happy. That’s the reason why we come to Him with our gifts week after week—to make Our Heavenly Father happy. You see, when Our Father is happy, so will we! So will we.

Pastor Paul