“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (rf. Philippians 4:19-20 MEV)
The God we serve, the Almighty God of Holy Scripture, is One who has promised to provide for all of the needs of His people, His Church. We know that in concept because we have seen His hand at work in the lives of the saints in both the Old and New Testaments. We also have personal experience with His sustaining and providential power. We can testify that He has come to our aid many times over the years to address our need. He has promised to be the only resource for us as His people. There is no need or situation beyond His ability to meet and to solve.
We already know that as part of His storehouse of treasures from which He draws to meet needs is our giving. This is the reason our commitment to tithing is so important. When we give over and above the tithe through our gifts and offerings, we are helping Him to expand His provision for His efforts of ministry. Yet, our giving of money is only one way that He brings His resources together.
He also uses the property and convertible personal items to expand His pool of resources. In the book of Numbers, there is an account of when God placed on the hearts of His people to give specific items of value that would be useful toward the construction of the Tabernacle (see Exod. 35:4-36:4). They gave their personal property, anything of great value, so that either it could be melted down for direct application to the building of the Tabernacle or it could be converted to money to be used to make necessary purchases. Indeed, the people gave so much that Moses had to stop the collection because they had much more than enough for the job. This is what transpires when God’s people get truly excited about giving back to the Lord in appreciation for all that He has given to us.
This brings up the necessary point for us to consider. When we think of how valuable things are to us, is His kingdom’s expansion by means of His Church a high consideration and priority…or is resourcing His work much lower on our list of important actions? We give because He desires for us to show our love and devotion in very tangible ways. The tithe belongs to Him already (if we’re being obedient); gifts and offerings are an opportunity to go beyond what is expected to something more expressive. When one enters into sacrificial giving, then he/she finds themselves in a realm occupied by few. Yet those who give sacrificially experience a true sense of His presence and favor because they have shown in visible ways how much we love and appreciate Him.
We can even continue to give after we have died. By leaving behind an inheritance specifically designated for use by His Church and His people, we can ensure that His message moves forward and expands outward to cover as much territory as possible. Jacob left behind a legacy to his sons in both spiritual and physical terms. Likewise, we can pass on a nice gift that will long stay on the earth for many years past our departure.
Our present culture teaches us that we should live “in the now”, that present experiences mean more than planning for the future. God stresses in His Word that the future belongs to Him and that we should not worry about tomorrow. However, in Proverbs, He uses the illustration of the ant and his life to point out the necessity and wisdom of future plans. He has already committed Himself to our provision and sustenance, but, more often than not, He fulfills His role through the agency of the giving of His people. Can He rely on you to be a part of such a worthwhile venture?
