Loaded Question
Theme of the Week: The Gift of Generosity
Tuesday, December 9, 2003
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Key Bible Verse: They gave not only what they could afford but far more. And they did it of their own free will (2 Corinthians 8:3). Bonus Reading:2 Corinthians 8:1-5
A new member's seminar was meeting in our home. I was sitting on the fireplace hearth with a man considering becoming a part of our church. He turned to me and asked me if Mosaic was a law church or a grace church. It was pretty obvious to me that he was setting a trap, so I thought I'd go ahead and jump in. I said, "Well, of course we're a grace church."
"I thought so," he replied. "I was concerned that you were one of those law churches that told people they had to tithe."
"Oh, no," I said. "We're a grace church. The law says, 'Don't murder.' Grace says you don't even have to have hatred in your heart; you can love your enemy. The law says, 'Don't commit adultery,' but grace says you don't even have to have lust in your heart for another woman. The law says, 'Give 10 percent,' but grace always takes us beyond the law. You can give 20, 30, or 40 percent. We would never stop you from living by grace."
He looked at me and said, "Oh."
Before we're able to clearly see the radical minimum of the first-century church, we must change the lenses from which we view our reality.
—Erwin Raphael McManus in An Unstoppable Force
My Response: Do I consider giving an obligation or a privilege?
Thought to Apply: If we would have God open His treasury, we must open ours.
—Thomas More (English statesman)
Adapted from An Unstoppable Force (Group, 2001) by permission.
Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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