Offer to God
Other Posts in this Series
Last year before my father-in-law died he became quite ill and spent several months in a nursing home. My wife made several trips to Kentucky to spend time with him, but the distance from Oklahoma to Kentucky kept her from visiting as often as she would have liked. Her brother, however, lived in southern Indiana, about an hour and a half away from where her father was living.
Over the course of many months Curt, my brother-in-law, visited his father almost everyday. He would rise early, do the necessary chores around his house and make the drive to Leitchfield, KY usually arriving around lunch time. If his father was up to it, he would take him out for a drive or even out for a bite to eat. Usually, however, his father wasn’t well enough for such a trip. He stayed in bed and slept. Curt sat by the bed, conversed with the nurses, and managed his father’s affairs. In reality, there were many days he didn’t “need” to be there. Yet he was there because he wanted to. It was what he had to offer his father.
The essence of “offering” is giving to someone else what we have simply because we love them and want them to have it. Offerings are not always tangible things like money or material things, though they can be. Too often when we talk about offering to God, especially in church, we hear about the need to give our money. In response we do so as a way to alleviate our guilt (much like an overindulgent parent gives money to their children to alleviate their guilt for not giving them more of themselves).
The offerings we give to God that best demonstrate our love are those that come from within us, those that are not required. We give them simply because we love. They look like my brother-in-law’s offerings to his father–time spent with the loved one, caring for the affairs of a father, advocating on behalf of the father. Offerings can also be sacrificial giving of money or material resources for God’s kingdom, but only if that giving comes from that inward place of love.
The prophet Isaiah, as does other prophets, cries out to the people of Judah to pay attention to what God wants and offer that.
“The multitude of your sacrifices–what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.” (Isaiah 1:11)
“Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:16-17)
Like the ancient Jews, we try to alleviate our guilt through the ritual of bringing a monetary offering to God. If it is not given out of love, it is useless. If we truly want to demonstrate our love to God, then our offerings become something quite different. God loves it when we offer ourselves, clean and repentant. God loves it when we give ourselves to doing right in every situation. God loves it when we offer our care for those who are suffering. God is pleased when we stand up for those who are weak. Offering rises from a deep desire to give to God what we have and to help God in kingdom work.
Comments
Share your thoughts...
