First Fruits

Sunday morning, the church was packed and the pastor was on a roll. All eyes were locked into that “don’t want to miss this” stare as they watched him pace from side to side in front of the congregation. It wasn’t unlike most other worship services until he announced, “Someone has been stealing from the church.” Heads slowly and subtly started to turn trying to catch a guilty look on the face of the culprit. Surely the thief would hang his head in shame or blush red with humiliation. There was no such countenance to be found in the crowd.

It could have been anyone. Mr. McHugh’s farm had seen better days and there were rumors that he was going to sell out. Nancy, the pianist, was going through a divorce and she could certainly have used some extra help with her three small children. Then there was Rusty, the “reformed” alcoholic….perhaps he had relapsed, was on a drinking binge and needed some extra cash to feed his demons. Silent judgment flew throughout the sanctuary.1 Everyone was certain that THEY knew who was to blame.

The pastor continued, “Do you not know that all you’ve been given is not yours to keep? Credit for ANYTHING that is yours comes from your Father in Heaven.2 Some of you have more, some have less. Regardless of your situation, what are you doing with what God has provided? Are you a good steward of the things with which you’ve been entrusted? Does He get your best or your leftovers? How many of your blessings are you paying forward? God calls you to, you know.”

Ultimately, if you’re not giving to God what is rightfully His, you’re stealing from Him.3 He needs nothing because He is God and all that exists belongs to Him. He calls us out of our selfish and self-seeking attitudes to see how much we really love Him…..not because He can’t live without our contributions but because we can’t fully trust if we refuse to fully obey.

By giving God our “first fruits” we honor Him with our wealth. In return for our faithfulness, our cups “runneth” over4 as long as we’re giving out of obedience rather than selfish gain. So, the next time the collection passes down the pew, trust that He has YOUR best intentions at heart. Step out in faith and obedience and EXPECT A BLESSING!!!

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ational.com

1 Romans 2:3

2 James 1:17

3 Malachi 3:8-9

4 Proverbs 3:9-10n