People like boxes.
Boxes make us feel safe.
Boxes make us feel good.
Boxes make us think that we are measuring up.
My mom once shared a story with me about a lovely Christian couple who were both born Jewish, but through their faith journey, came to love and accept Jesus Christ as their savior. They were that perfect family, beautiful inside and out, involved in the church and loved and respected by all. A wonderful display of authentic Christianity.
Then, out of the blue, the husband decided to take himself out of that place of perfect grace and return to his Jewish roots where he would live under the law rather than under grace. Where he would return to all the safe customs and rituals which would define his faith. My mom was devastated for him and for his family. Why would someone do this. Especially after experiencing the love of Jesus Christ.
In my head, it made perfect sense. I totally got it. It is so much easier living by a set of rules. Acting out our faith rather than feeling our faith.
A relationship with Jesus is like any other relationship. It takes commitment and time and energy. It requires emotional investment, even when we don’t feel like it. It means that we will be stretched beyond what we are comfortable giving. And that we will be accountable for our thoughts and actions.
But, it is also the most fulfilling relationship on earth. Jesus loves us with a love that is completely uncompromising and unconditional. He fills our hearts with love and joy and peace and kindness. So when we are in a relationship with Jesus, we are completely fulfilled. In an ‘out of this world’ kind of way.
There is no doubt that it takes a lot of our human ‘capacity’ to walk in a real relationship with the Lord. We need to be completely transparent, completely real and completely open to hearing what he is saying to us and where he is guiding us to go.
Surely it would be a lot easier to just follow a list of ‘must do’s’ and obey a set of rules that will keep us in God’s good book – or rather in the Lambs book of Life.
In a way, yes that is true. But we have been created to be relational beings. God our creator calls us into a relationship with Him. Right from the beginning of time, he pursued a real and transparent relationship with us. In the Garden of Eden, he walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. He sought them out and took great pleasure in their time spent together.
Yet, throughout history, man has been continually and intentionally hiding his face from God. Allowing himself to be torn away from the light and tempted into the dark.
That is exactly why God gave the law to Moses. Because of the peoples harness of hearts. The law helped to keep the people in check. If they stuck to ‘the list’ then they were good with God. We need to remember that in the OT times, the people did not have a personal relationship with God. God didn’t speak to the people individually. So rather than relationship, they had the law.
Lets look at Galatians 3: 19 & 23-24 (The Living Bible)
19 Well then, why were the laws given? They were added after the promise was given, to show men how guilty they are of breaking God’s laws. But this system of law was to last only until the coming of Christ, the Child to whom God’s promise was made.
23 Until Christ came we were guarded by the law, kept in protective custody, so to speak, until we could believe in the coming Savior.
24 Let me put it another way. The Jewish laws were our teacher and guide until Christ came to give us right standing with God through our faith.
So then, does the Old Testament Law still apply to us today?
I believe not. We are no longer living under the law but under grace. God is in conversation with us, through his son and through the work of the Holy Spirit. In a way, this makes it a lot more difficult, because there is not so much ‘black and white’ and a whole lot more grey. Not so many do’s and don’ts but rather a lot of promptings and nudgings.
The one thing though, that is not grey, is Gods love for us. His love never falters and his love never fails.
And God uses US (meaning those who are open and willing to listen), to show his love to a broken world.
The bible tells us that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. The God of the old testament is exactly the same as the God of the new testament. He always pursues us with his Love and always wants us to show his love to others.
In Isaiah 58:10-11 , we read an incredibly encouraging scripture about ‘practically’ loving one another.
“Feed the hungry. Help those in need. Then your light will shine out from the darkness and the darkness around you shall become as bright as day. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy you with all good things and keep you healthy too. Like a well watered garden. An ever-flowing stream.”
This is Gods heart for his people. We are never to neglect those in need.
It is Gods great desire that we reach out our helping hand to those who are in desperate need.
Yes, God is still omnipotent and omniscient and omnipresent and he has legions of angels to go about his work if we are not reacting to his promptings. But being the hands and feet for God is a wonderful way of showing his love and growing in his love. The more we hear him talk, the more we see him at work, the more we know him and the more we fall in love with him.
And there are no rules about how much we are to give, (financially or practically) because we are to give joyfully, from the heart.
The New Testament Apostles never taught on giving to the church. Tithing is not a New Testament teaching at all. It is one of the Old Testament laws.
It was put in place as an outward expression to show how much the OT believers loved God. It was their way of showing that they trusted in God above all else. It was showing gratitude to God that God had provided all they had. And it was helping them stay humble by giving away their ‘best portion’.
Believers in the New Testament (which now includes us) have been given a new commandment. Love the Lord with all your heart and all your soul, with all your mind and all your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.
This loving your neighbor encompasses everything that loving represents.
James 2:14-18 Living Bible (TLB)
14 Dear brothers, what’s the use of saying that you have faith and are Christians if you aren’t proving it by helping others? Will that kind of faith save anyone? 15 If you have a friend who is in need of food and clothing, 16 and you say to him, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat hearty,” and then don’t give him clothes or food, what good does that do?
17 So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good works is no faith at all—it is dead and useless.
The Lord has blessed us all with different gifts, according to his grace.
Romans 12:6-8 (NIV) says this;
If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Each and every one of us has something different and unique to offer.
Here are some practical ideas of how we can give.
We can give a portion of our money or time to our spiritual home or a charity.
We can be a friend to someone who is sick or lonely.
We can do volunteer work, be a peacemaker, a teacher or minister.
We may give unselfishly of our time to our spouse, our children or our aging parents.
We may choose a service-oriented occupation, or we may just do our everyday jobs with integrity and respect for others.
The most important thing is that we tune in to what God is saying to us and to where he is leading us to give. That is when the giving has the highest value.
Don’t be afraid that by giving to others, you will be taking away from yourself or your family. The very opposite is true. Giving to others brings meaning and fulfillment to our lives in a way that wealth, power, possessions and self-centered pursuits can never match.
Giving of our time is giving away the most precious resource on this earth.
As Jesus said in Luke 6:38
“For if you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give — large or small — will be used to measure what is given back to you.”
Here is to happy giving!!!
A note from me: I am by no means a theologian but I get so passionate and inspired when I begin researching a subject of interest. I believe that all my findings are revealed by God and inspired by God. I am hoping that my writing will help us stand together in learning how to love God more and love each other more. And help us understand together how we can live our lives to the fullest – with purpose and with passion.
If you would like to make any comments on the subject of tithing or if you would like to post your own input, please send me an email at linda@lifelovemiracles.co.za