God’s Balance Sheet

Summary

Then there is the Offering. We receive abundantly from God, so itis time for us to give something back. In harvesting the grain, we need to leave something for the gleaners. If we isolate the offering from the rest of worship, our giving becomes a drain, ready to suck down our hard-earned dollars. But, if when we glimpse God’s big purpose, we see our offering as a sort of dynamic exchange, an investment, even. Giving can be joyful! Think of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, tossing a half-crown to the boy in the street and telling him to deliver that fat Christmas goose to Bob Cratchit’s family. Surely that was the happiest half-crown old Scrooge ever spent, because it was an act of pure generosity and joy.