Seeing the Face of Christ in Our World--Wednesday, March 28

Deuteronomy 16:9-12

⁹You shall count seven weeks; begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. ¹⁰Then you shall keep the festival of weeks to the LORD your God, contributing a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing that you have received from the LORD your God. ¹¹Rejoice before the LORD your God — you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female slaves, the Levites resident in your towns, as well as the strangers, the orphans, and the widows who are among you — at the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 

¹²Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and diligently observe these statutes.

The Feast of Weeks, also called “Pentecost,” was a harvest festival celebrated with the “first fruits” of the crops. God’s people were commanded to give gifts “in proportion” to the agricultural blessings that they had received from God’s hand. These gifts or first fruits were given in reliance on God’s providence and in recognition of the fact that God owns the whole harvest. Similarly, Christians are called to give “in proportion” or “according to what one has, not according to what [one] does not have,” for God makes us “rich in every way so that we can be generous on every occasion.”


I recall as a young child every Friday night my Dad stopped by the bank on the way home from work.  After greeting the family and pouring himself a cold glass of water, ice tea, or whatever, he always opened his wallet and counted out a percentage of his income and then immediately carried it to his bedroom.  Mom and Dad had a plastic box with a cross on it on their dresser where Dad always put their “proportional” offering.  All of their charitable donations came from that box…for church, March of Dimes, American Cancer Fund, etc.  Life was financially tight growing up, there were 5 children and Mom did not work.  Mom always baked, canned, and sewed all our clothes to make ends meet.  Mom used her gifts in cooking and crafts to give back to the Lord by volunteering in preparing meals for church events, sewing clothes for needy children, and making quilts for Lutheran World Relief as well.  Mom and Dad always said, “God first!”  This memory has stayed with me and my siblings.  All of us have kept the practice of giving to God first by using our individual gifts in our own ways.
God does not discriminate against the gifts that he gives us.  No matter what gifts God gave us, we should give back a proportion of the gifts.  When giving God’s gifts back, God’s love returns to us in personal experiences through church services, our church activities, and our church family.
Donna Hennessy

For reflection:

What are some early memories that taught you lessons about giving and generosity?

How are faith and giving connected?

If you were to describe the impact of giving in one’s life to a child, what would you say?