Gift-Giving 4: “First Place”

Acts 10:1-4; Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4

December 16, 2007

 

When God began the process of turning 2-million Jewish slaves into a nation, the first command He gave them was: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2-3).  When Jesus explained the commands by which people would come into His kingdom, He emphasized words first written in Deuteronomy 6:5 by telling His followers to: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' (Luke 10:27).

 

God and Jesus have always demanded that their followers passionately love them and give them first place in their lives. They refuse to settle for less.

 

We encounter one such passionate man in Acts 10.  His name is Cornelius and he is a Roman centurion stationed in Caesarea. Polybius, a Roman historian had this to say about centurions: “Centurions are required not to be bold and adventurous so much as good leaders, of steady and prudent mind, not prone to take the offensive or start fighting wantonly, but able when overwhelmed and hard-pressed to stand fast and die at their post” (The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Book of Acts, F.F. Bruce, Eerdmans, 1977, p.215).

 

He was also what the Jews of his day called a “God-fearer.”  God held first place in his life, but he held back from the final requirements necessary for converting to Judaism.  This means that he worshiped the one true God, knew many of the Scriptures and held to their ethical standards, observed many of the religious customs, and offered the appropriate prayers. Scripture records that his family also joined in these practices.  During one of these regular prayer times an angel from the Lord appeared to him and said: "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea" (Acts 10:4-6). After Cornelius followed the words of the angel, Cornelius’ household became the place where the Holy Spirit was specifically given to all the Gentiles for the first time. So God had to be pleased with the life Cornelius lived and his passionate way of loving God to grant him this privilege.

 

What interests me this morning from this passage is that the angel specifically makes mention of Cornelius’ gifts to the poor. One among the many different ways we can show God He maintains first-place in our lives is by what we do with our money. Scripture makes no mention that Cornelius gave up all of his possessions to follow Jesus. God did not ask him to do any such thing; God rarely does.  Cornelius simply put God first in his life and did the normal things Christians are supposed to do.  And God honored him for his faithfulness.

 

In two other places, Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4, the gospel writers recount the story of a poor widow who did give everything of worth she had to God.  She gave “two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.” These gifts were given to temple treasury at the same time many wealthy people were also putting their money into the treasury. But Jesus lauded her gift because she “out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

 

I’ll admit this story makes me as a pastor a little edgy. I often wonder what would happen to the work of building God’s kingdom on earth if people stopped giving “out of their wealth” and only gave when they could give everything. Would I have a job, or at least a job that paid a livable salary? How many churches would there be in America?  Selfishly, I have to admit I am not ready for that to happen.  I would appreciate someone putting in everything they have to live on, but I would also wonder who would help him or her survive the next week, or month, or year.  The widow’s story challenges me at a deeper level because her gift makes her totally dependent on God and His people on earth.  How much responsibility does God have to help her and how much responsibility would her church and her pastor bear?

 

If all of the sudden every one of us put God first in our lives in every way, I still don’t think he would ask us to give all of our money to the church. The tithe is not a New Testament ritual. Instead He tells us, “For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38). For the most part, I think God would ask us to live the way Cornelius lived.  At the same time, I do believe there is a point in every one of our lives when God challenges us to do something that places us in a place of total dependence on Him. He may ask some of us to change jobs so that we can use our time differently in some way or another.  He may ask us to make the sacrifices necessary to go back to school or receive some specialized training so that we can serve Him in some new way.  God may ask one of us to bring a hurting child or teenager into our home greatly changing our comfort zones.  He may ask another one to help a single parent raise their boys and girls, or another to be a big brother or a big sister to a hurting child or teenager. Some of us may be asked to leave our parents or our friends behind and follow Him to a distant land.  He has already asked some of us to serve Him in the military; but, maybe there is a missionary or a pastor among us. The specific ways are as many and varied as we are.

 

God speaks to all of our hearts at some particular point in a particular way and asks us to do something for Him.  He asked Cornelius to invite Peter and his Jewish friends to come into his home and tell them about Jesus.  He asked this widow to give everything she had and trust Him with her tomorrows.  Part of me thinks that the widow didn’t have too many happy tomorrows on this earth.  I somehow doubt that her church came through for her.  Still, her story is recorded in the Bible.  Jesus honored her by noticing what she did.  Is that enough?  I know it should be, but I’ve been a pastor long enough to wonder.  Is it enough for us just to do what God asks us to do if we never see any earthly reward for what we do? If earthly things never improve despite all of our faithful service, will we continue to do what God wants us to do? 

 

Passion is hard to sustain, but it is worth the effort. Faithfulness, dependability, and doing “the right thing” are enough in and of themselves.  They are their own reward.  So is a life lived on earth with Jesus and the Holy Spirit as our constant companions. Every sacrifice and decision to do what God asks is worth whatever price we pay even if we never see any earthly reward.  Do you believe me? Can you live that way?