Written by Special Guest Contributor, Ben Berg | February 9, 2023
Every Sunday at church my pastor sets up our offering time with a brief thought on giving from the Word of God. Recently he was in Deuteronomy 16 where God gives instructions to the Israelites for their freewill offerings. Within this passage are the directions, “No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed. Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you” (verses 16-17). My pastor linked this passage to a promise God made to the Israelites generations before, back in the book of Exodus, where God said, “…when you leave you will not go empty-handed,” (Exodus 3:21). The connection made was that we should never appear before the Lord empty handed because God always puts something in our hand first that we can use to bring before him and to bless others.
Sitting in the same row as my fiancé and me, hearing the same words from my pastor, was a student from the high school where I coach and she works. With this student were a couple of her friends she invited that were attending church for the first time. As I was in my seat, listening to my pastor talk about these passages, I was captured by the wonder of the Bible and its many themes, references and callbacks that are so intricately connected. Meanwhile, I noticed this student a few seats down, listening to the same words, only she responded by taking cash from her wallet and very inconspicuously gave some bills to her friends. Shortly after the teaching the offering was collected. I took the collection basket and simply passed it down the aisle. When the basket got to the girls, none of them appeared before the Lord empty handed as each one joyfully dropped money into the basket.
Watching this unfold was both an inspiration and a subtle rebuke for me. This act was a beautiful display of selfless generosity; a young teenager with hardly any money of her own and hearing the words that we should not appear before the Lord empty handed, immediately responds with obedience by giving money to her friends so that they could participate in offering as well. And yet at the same time, I felt convicted by the thought of how often I get caught up in the historical and theological content of the Bible yet fail to take action.
For many of us, including myself, this is a crux to discipleship. How do we take the knowledge we learn from scripture and apply it to our lives? If we want to grow with Jesus, we need to have faith-in-action. We need to get beyond just talking about scripture and actually live it out. One way to start is by being more attune to the needs of those directly around us and taking action to meet those needs. It may just be a hug, or a word of encouragement or a warm meal. Or it could be giving a few dollars away to another so they are not left empty handed. In doing so we’ll be living as true disciples of Jesus. I was reminded of this important lesson by a young student at church. Maybe today you need to be reminded of that too.
Bio:
Ben Berg is the Lead Generosity Coach for Dynamis Ministries where he works with individuals and couples to create Generosity Plans. He is also a strength and conditioning coach at a local high school. Whether guiding others through generosity plans or fitness plans, Ben enjoys helping people develop their God-given potential.
