Dear Church, This is one of the Discipleship Trainings. Practical experiences speak a lot more than theoretical learning. Jesus always took his disciples through many life-giving experiences. This is one among those. This happened within the synagogue. Nothing can slip away from His eyes. Jesus was at the temple with the disciples. Here he witnessed something which he used to teach the disciples about giving. He sat across from the treasury of the temple and watched many rich people put in large sums of money. Then a poor widow came along and put in two small copper coins. Jesus teaches the disciples that the woman gave more than the rich. The poor woman, as a widow, would have had no source of income after her husband’s death. Therefore the two small copper coins were all she had - and yet she offered them to God. The rich, on the other hand, had a lot of money to spare. So what they offered to God was just loose change, money they did not depend on. This is one of the roles and natures of Christian discipleship. It should not come under compulsion. It should come voluntarily, willingly and with eagerness. We need to know for what cause we are giving before we give. If the offering is for the Church and its growth, the giving makes us a partner of His kingdom work. If the offering is supporting other Christian organizations, we are indirectly serving Him through this way. We see different churches display this message ‘for giving donations, contact…’ at the upfront before the service begins. In general, people of the world have this opinion that Christians run their churches for their benefits. Our God is a Sovereign God and He can provide from nothing. He can kindle hearts and do unimaginable things. At the same time, I agree it is the church leadership team’s responsibility to let the congregation know the church’s current finance situation and its need. It is up to the congregation to decide and increase their giving or giving if not giving. Our church treasurer will be in touch with you regarding this. Jesus is teaching the disciples that it is not the amount of money given that is important, but rather the sacrifice made in the offering. God Bless, Amutha
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amutha devarajRev. Dr Amutha Devaraj is the minister at ADBC. This blog is an excerpt of her articles appearing in the monthly magazine "News and Views" Year 2020 |