But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. (12:42)
There are some people who consider offering and material blessing as something closely related to each other by quoting related Bible verses mostly from the Old Testaments. Malachi mentions about tithe. It says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”(Mal. 3:10)
When we interpret the word of God, especially the Old Testaments, one important action for us to take is to distinguish whether it is in general or in peculiar matter. The fact that God created the world is in the general term but the account on the prohibition to eat pork is in the peculiar form. The general one is applied beyond history but the peculiar one is limited only to the particular history. As pork is a peculiar matter, so also tithe a peculiar one limited to the history of Israel.
Our offering does not have any relationship with the material blessing. If you give an offering with the expectation of getting such blessing, then it will be a meaningless offering. On the contrary, even though we do not give offering, we can be materially blessed. Though Japan does not give offering in the arena of their Christian religious rites, they are abundantly and materially blessed.
Combining offering and blessing is to secularize the holy activity. Do we do business with God? We do not do that. It is because real relationship with God can only be established at the ground level of life. How can we buy the life with offering which is given to us and being kept? The only thing we can ask God for material thing is to pray, “Give us our daily bread”.
Showing posts with label Mark 12:42. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mark 12:42. Show all posts
20090918
Offering (5)
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. (12:42)
In yesterday’s meditation, I mentioned that God exercises his unique and exclusive ability to bring about salvation regardless man’s repeated acts of offering. Then does this imply the act of offering has no meaning at all? No. There are two important implications of offering.
First, offering is a symbol of religious confession that we as creatures absolutely depend on God, the source of life. Worship service is also a doxology of religious confession. Offering is a supplement to a worship service. Of course we can glorify God without formal worship service and offering. It does not matter does if one worships God alone. However, in the case of a big community where huge gathering becomes part and parcel a certain formality is required to be maintained.
Second, offering is a material foundation to maintain the well being of a church community. Offering is not at all necessary for the visible part of the church to earn salvation because the work of redemption has already been accomplished through the shedding blood of Jesus. However, it is necessary on the visible part of the church which still struggles in this temporal world. Practically money is needed to meet the expenses of a pastor or a father who serves the church community and also for the maintenance of the church and other miscellaneous expenses.
In this point, the act of offering could be a sort of a necessary evil. Precisely speaking, God does not want our money. Just as we do not pay anything for breathing or bathing in the sun which are God’s gifts, God does not expect anything from us for what he has done. The problem is that we have not yet entered into God’s complete rule. We are living in the ‘middle area’. Our lives loitering in the middle area is nothing but the temporal way of life. In such tentative world, we even partially use money as a mediator between God and us. In this sense, offering can be called a necessary evil for it comes as a mediator in our relationship with God.
In yesterday’s meditation, I mentioned that God exercises his unique and exclusive ability to bring about salvation regardless man’s repeated acts of offering. Then does this imply the act of offering has no meaning at all? No. There are two important implications of offering.
First, offering is a symbol of religious confession that we as creatures absolutely depend on God, the source of life. Worship service is also a doxology of religious confession. Offering is a supplement to a worship service. Of course we can glorify God without formal worship service and offering. It does not matter does if one worships God alone. However, in the case of a big community where huge gathering becomes part and parcel a certain formality is required to be maintained.
Second, offering is a material foundation to maintain the well being of a church community. Offering is not at all necessary for the visible part of the church to earn salvation because the work of redemption has already been accomplished through the shedding blood of Jesus. However, it is necessary on the visible part of the church which still struggles in this temporal world. Practically money is needed to meet the expenses of a pastor or a father who serves the church community and also for the maintenance of the church and other miscellaneous expenses.
In this point, the act of offering could be a sort of a necessary evil. Precisely speaking, God does not want our money. Just as we do not pay anything for breathing or bathing in the sun which are God’s gifts, God does not expect anything from us for what he has done. The problem is that we have not yet entered into God’s complete rule. We are living in the ‘middle area’. Our lives loitering in the middle area is nothing but the temporal way of life. In such tentative world, we even partially use money as a mediator between God and us. In this sense, offering can be called a necessary evil for it comes as a mediator in our relationship with God.
Offering (4)
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. 12:42)
What is offering? The greatest conventional misunderstanding is that God may need our offering. The idea is that God may feel hungry or lingers for something like a human being. But in reality it is not at all. God needs nothing. Different from human whose base of existence completely depends on the exterior God needs nothing, for his base of existence is the interior. God does not need our offering.
You may say offering is necessary in order to do some practical work of God. You would like to say preaching, education, services and even worship would be difficult without money. It is not like that. God is not the one who works with man’s offering. If God happens to be such a being, he would not have been called the creator. Our God works independently with his unique way which is completely different from our expectation.
When we read Psalm 50:9-13., it says, “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?” Many other prophets also said the same.
What does it mean by the above mention verses in Psalm? It means that we must not emphasize too much on the activity of offering. Do we offer a Crore or thousand Crore? Though we offer such huge amounts, how much can it support God’s salvation activity? Though we do not offer anything, God’s salvation work cannot be hindered. People are proud of a penny of offering inwardly or outwardly. People say proudly that they send a missionary abroad- with much offering. They misunderstand as they are replacing God’s position in doing the work of salvation. Does God laugh at all these in heaven?
What is offering? The greatest conventional misunderstanding is that God may need our offering. The idea is that God may feel hungry or lingers for something like a human being. But in reality it is not at all. God needs nothing. Different from human whose base of existence completely depends on the exterior God needs nothing, for his base of existence is the interior. God does not need our offering.
You may say offering is necessary in order to do some practical work of God. You would like to say preaching, education, services and even worship would be difficult without money. It is not like that. God is not the one who works with man’s offering. If God happens to be such a being, he would not have been called the creator. Our God works independently with his unique way which is completely different from our expectation.
When we read Psalm 50:9-13., it says, “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?” Many other prophets also said the same.
What does it mean by the above mention verses in Psalm? It means that we must not emphasize too much on the activity of offering. Do we offer a Crore or thousand Crore? Though we offer such huge amounts, how much can it support God’s salvation activity? Though we do not offer anything, God’s salvation work cannot be hindered. People are proud of a penny of offering inwardly or outwardly. People say proudly that they send a missionary abroad- with much offering. They misunderstand as they are replacing God’s position in doing the work of salvation. Does God laugh at all these in heaven?
Offering (3)
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.(12:42)
A poor widow put in two very small copper coins worth only a fraction of a penny. Did the widow see the rich throwing large amounts into the box? The content of today does not tell us this. However, as readers of the Bible, we have to exercise our imagination and presume that the widow could have seen the rich man dropping offering into the box. If she saw this, she might be a little quailed. Even now this frequently happens to be quailed as a result of others offerings. What on earth, offering make people proud of or get quailed?
It happened when I was young. A church had a protracted meeting. At the end of the meeting, there was a program to unanimously decide the budget for the construction of church building. The preacher shouted, “Hands up with $10,000.” The amount of went down as he continued to invite congregation to voluntarily decide and make pledge in public. In this way the amount came down till $10. The leader approached the one who voluntarily decided to contribute for the cause and got a decision statement. The one who offered $10,000 was immediately known to the public. There was no second thought that such public declaration would hurt the sentiments of those who could not offer as much as the rich people.
It is not certain whether the same kind of system and church norm is found even today but there are many churches that continue to nurture the long-practice tradition of calling the name of those who voluntarily donate for the church building at worship service. No matter how hard I try I cannot understand why they did so. If there was a reason behind for doing this, it would be to stimulate others to offer more.
In my point of view, the audiences may not offer though they do like this. It works temporarily but it may not continue. On the contrary, declaration of the amount offered by someone in the service does not influence the congregation to offer more. The crux of the matter is how religious we have become as matured Christians.
A poor widow put in two very small copper coins worth only a fraction of a penny. Did the widow see the rich throwing large amounts into the box? The content of today does not tell us this. However, as readers of the Bible, we have to exercise our imagination and presume that the widow could have seen the rich man dropping offering into the box. If she saw this, she might be a little quailed. Even now this frequently happens to be quailed as a result of others offerings. What on earth, offering make people proud of or get quailed?
It happened when I was young. A church had a protracted meeting. At the end of the meeting, there was a program to unanimously decide the budget for the construction of church building. The preacher shouted, “Hands up with $10,000.” The amount of went down as he continued to invite congregation to voluntarily decide and make pledge in public. In this way the amount came down till $10. The leader approached the one who voluntarily decided to contribute for the cause and got a decision statement. The one who offered $10,000 was immediately known to the public. There was no second thought that such public declaration would hurt the sentiments of those who could not offer as much as the rich people.
It is not certain whether the same kind of system and church norm is found even today but there are many churches that continue to nurture the long-practice tradition of calling the name of those who voluntarily donate for the church building at worship service. No matter how hard I try I cannot understand why they did so. If there was a reason behind for doing this, it would be to stimulate others to offer more.
In my point of view, the audiences may not offer though they do like this. It works temporarily but it may not continue. On the contrary, declaration of the amount offered by someone in the service does not influence the congregation to offer more. The crux of the matter is how religious we have become as matured Christians.
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