Seeds

This weekend we began a new series called "Seeds". Greg Rohlinger preached a great message today on the parable of the soils. Basically, we need to examine the condition of our heart (soil) to see how receptive we are to God's message (Christ is the seed).

He also pointed out that we will be talking about using the seeds that God has given us. Tithing is a key element of that. Sometimes obedience in giving comes before the joy of giving. Giving has been a long journey for me. When I had no money, I thought of my service as my tithe. That my time was more important than my treasure. I have grown to understand that what matters is that you give every area of your life to God, your time, money, and abilities. Trusting God with your finances and stuff can be really hard. The more you have or the more you make the harder it gets to turn it over to God. I think that's when it's more an issue of obedience. When you don't have any money and you have to weigh giving or paying bills, giving becomes more a matter of faith.

I think it takes a combination of faith and obedience to find balance in the area of giving. The ideal is that we obey in faith and find joy in that. The Bible says, "God loves a cheerful giver." Sometimes you may not feel very cheerful when you give, that's when you simply need to be obedient. Often, joy will follow when you have obeyed. For me now, it is great joy to give, and when I can give more I have greater joy! I hope to be able to give more each year. We give more now than I ever thought possible. Not because we're rich, but because we believe that it honors God and He blesses us for it. Not financial or material blessings necessarily, but true joy in knowing that we are participating in something much bigger than ourselves.

If you haven't begun tithing, I encourage you to start you will find joy in it!