Today’s Daily Lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 16 verses 1 through 4:
Now concerning the collection for the saints: you should follow the directions I gave to the churches of Galatia. 2On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. 3And when I arrive, I will send any whom you approve with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem. 4If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
“Now concerning the collection . . .”
We’re half way through October and the traditional pledge season of many churches and many pastors are writing letters concerning the collection. And admittedly, some pastors are in fact concerned about the collection!
Learning to give is an important part of becoming a faithful member of Christ’s Church. To learn to give sacrificially requires some hard decisions. The people my age who give sacrificially are foregoing really cool vacations, living in more modest homes and neighborhoods, and eat at home a lot more than they eat out.
They do this not out of a sense of guilt-induced obligation, but because they believe in the Church and in the way of Jesus. They live simpler lives because they want to live more generous lives. They give much because they’ve been given so much.
I am grateful for them. They inspire me. They are the people I want to raise my children around — because they love the LORD and seek to live out their values.
Here’s a noble saying I picked up from John Wesley while sojourning with the Methodists in Divinity School:
“Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then give all you can.”
Those words to live and to give by.
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