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Many years ago, when my two oldest boys were still very young, our church sent our whole family on a missions trip to Haiti. To them, it was "a vacation with a purpose." For my husband and me, our hearts were impacted for missions for a lifetime. We were told when we went, that we would probably experience culture shock as we spent almost two weeks in a third-world country in which the vast majority counted little in the way of possessions. Our only "culture shock" though came when we returned home to the comforts of our own home and community. We attended several church services while we were there, entering into the spirit of what was happening even though we could not understand the language. An offering was taken for the poorest of the poor, and what we saw was astonishing. There was no one bringing an offering that in our American sense of affluence could "afford" to do so. The poor gave to the poorer and to the poorest. And they gave with open hearts, thankful for the provision that God had given them – a provision that enabled them to share.
Wild fires ravaged California, and some of our Christian communities responded with open homes, a willingness to get involved, financial donations, food, and a tireless "what can we do now?" Their giving is exemplary and a true picture of a God who cares. Every year friends and members of our congregation pack hundreds of shoe boxes filled with small gifts for children around the world, and we watch while our small contribution helps to grow the literally millions of shoe boxes that are packed and distributed worldwide with a message of hope. Giving – it is what God has profusely done for us, and it is what God asks us to do for others.
Giving doesn’t have a predetermined size – we can give in both larger and smaller ways. I have often heard it said, that how much we give is not what counts, but how much we have left over. And although at times, we do "program" a time of giving within our churches to meet specific needs, needs surround us, and Christ-like giving maintains a sensitivity to the needs of others that can and does respond without a directive – giving simply because the heart of God has found a likeness in our hearts that cares. We can give a shoe box, a check, food to refresh a fire fighter, but we can also give a hug, understanding, time with the elderly, the lonely, the discouraged, the abandoned. We can put food in another’s refrigerator, supply fuel to warm their home, help stretch someone’s paycheck until the end of the month, spend priceless hours with a child who needs tutoring, or with a friend in wit’s end corner. Jesus says that if we invite the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick or the prisoner, we have done it to Him. Delight His heart – give out of gratitude for God’s gifts to you. You have immeasurably more than you think.
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