OFFERING OF GRATITUDE

READINGS: FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

Rudyard Kipling is a writer, and his books sold so much that words in his books were said to be worth a hundred dollars each. Once, a journalist gave him a hundred dollars with the request, “Mr. Kipling, could you please give me one of your one-hundred-dollar worth words.” “Sure”, Mr. Kipling replied, and putting the money in his pocket, said, “Thanks”. Yes, thanks—to be grateful and to appreciate blessings in life—is a genuine and gracious million-dollar word. 

In the first reading of this First Sunday of Lent, Year C (Deuteronomy 26:1-11), Moses told the people of Israel that when they bring their offering to the Lord, they should do so with a declaration of all the blessings God has bestowed upon them from years past. In other words, he was telling the people that when they bring their offerings to the Lord, they should be intentional about it, with gratitude in their hearts for God’s blessings in their lives over the years. Scriptures say that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7). 

It is easy to come to Church and drop a note or a few coins into the collection basket without really giving it much thought—what am I doing, how much am I giving, why am I giving what I am giving, etc. Our offertory giving needs to be intentional and must have a purpose. Our offertory giving is not something that happens during offertory. No, it begins at home before we come to Church. The family should come together, remember and declare what the Lord has done in their lives—His mercies, graces, divine protection, deliverances, blessings, provision, sustenance, consolations, healings and restorations, gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, gift of life and wellbeing, etc. Then, in gratitude and thanksgiving for all these blessings, decide on what to give to the Lord, bearing in mind that all that we have come from Him. In this way, we are thoughtful about what we are giving to God, and we package it with an intention. This makes our offertory giving a true sacrifice of praise, pleasing to the Lord. 

My friends, the Lord deserves our best, our very best, and so our minds should be in it when we are making an offering to Him. We should be grateful not just for what God is doing today but also for what He has done over the years. It strengthens our faith in a promise-keeping God and strengthens our hope that His promises are “Amen” unto us in Christ Jesus. So, let us take time to remember what the Lord has done for us over the years and become thoughtful, intentional, and gratitude-loaded, as we make our Sunday offerings. The good Lord blesses His people so that His intention that the world be saved in the Blood of his Son will not be shortchange. 

May our offerings always come out of the spirit of generosity and an expression of our thankfulness and gracious gratitude to our Lord. The Church of God cannot lack when the people of God are present. Scripture says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food [plenty] in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (Malachi 3:10). May the good Lord take glory in our offerings and may this promise of His be “Amen” unto us, in Christ Jesus.