Day Eighteen - Give something of value

2 Corinthians 8:2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

                  When I was young,  my family would live each summer up at a cabin in Northern Minnesota.  My dad had a large garden up at our lake with rows of corn and potatoes.  All summer I looked forward to the first ripe corn and the “baby” potatoes.  My mom would send me out into the garden to check to see if any of the cobs were turning yellow.  My favorite corn was the white kernels with just a light shade of yellow.  They were small kernels,  but they were so sweet. 

                   The first fruits in the Bible were not only the earliest ripening fruit,  they were also the best.  God desired the best to be given to Him.  We are thankful for those who give heartily to the Lord. When we give to the Lord,  we should always give our best.  Unfortunately,  our nature is to keep the best for ourselves and give the leftovers to the Lord.  It was kind of a joke years ago when people would donate their hand -me-downs to the missionary cupboard.  

                   When you give a gift to a person,  do you give your best or your leftovers?  When the Bible says,  “Where your treasure is,  there will your heart be also”  it is reminding us that we will love the thing or person to whom we give our best.  The church in Macedonia gave their best even though they were a church in great poverty.   We are not in poverty,  but do we give the “riches of our liberality”  as they gave?   The definition of giving in the Bible carries the idea of “sacrifice.”  When we give our leftovers,  it’s not much of a sacrifice.  If we give something of value,  that is a sacrifice.  When God gave His Son,  we read,

Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

An Exercise to increase my Faith  -   Give something of value.  Whether you give it to a loved one,  or to a person in need,  give as if you were giving it to God.  It doesn’t have to be an expensive gift,  just a gift that has meaning and value to you.