| |
 Perspective makes all the difference. This is true in giving, as it is true in every area of life. Once we get beyond the childhood years, we engage in giving. We give our time, our money, our energy and our talents. All through our lives, we give.
But not all giving is the same. There are times when we give grudgingly, as when we give our hard-earned money to the tax authorities. We do it purely to avoid unpleasant legal consequences. There are times when we give mechanically, as to the students we run into every Saturday selling flags. It’s a largely meaningless ritual, a reflex action. That’s why they say “as cold as charity.” Then there are times when we give cheerfully, joyfully with great delight. Like when, in a moment of near-madness, you bought that diamond ring for your wife. Or when a woman decides to give the best years of her life to bearing and raising children. The cost is extremely high, but the joy is all the more greater. It takes a certain amount of irrationality (in simple English: makes no sense) to give so lavishly, and yet that’s the kind of giving that brings us the most pleasure.
Maybe that’s part of what it means to be made in the image of God. I once heard a preacher say that God must be mad. A blasphemous statement? Perhaps, but he went on to explain: God must be mad to love us so lavishly. He must be mad; madly in love with us. Actually, he’s probably right. Anyone must be madly in love to give even his Son.
In fact, God must be mad to love us at all. We tend to make the mistake of thinking: God loves us, therefore we must be lovable. Nothing is further from the truth. God loves us in spite of the fact that we are not lovable. The bible emphasizes this. God’s eyes are too pure to behold sin. We are objects of wrath. We are enemies of God. Nowhere does it say in the bible that God found us so cute and cuddly, his heart melted and he could not help it but to love us. No, God’s love flows out of his own nature because God is love.
It’s February again, when we take up a special offering: Give to the King. Why ask people to give over and above what they have already been giving regularly? I can give you a whole host of reasons. Sensible, rational and logical reasons. But if those reasons are why you give, you are not going to experience the maximum joy you can get out of giving. I would therefore say: do it because you are mad; madly in love with God. And when you are madly in love, the more sacrificially you give, the better you feel.
Blessings，
Wang Tiak Kweng
Senior Pastor
|
Contact Us
