Settling Old and New Accounts

A few months ago I switched my cell phone over from a contract family plan to a prepaid individual plan. I still wanted to keep my original phone number, since that’s the number people already associated with me—it was, in essence, my phone identity.  But I still had to get a new number with the new plan, pay for the first month, and then request my old phone number back from T-Mobile. When T-Mobile switched my account back to the old number, the new number that I’d received after departing from my initial account was erased, along with the balance for the entire account.  In this case this was not a good thing—I had already made a payment, which was now gone! But what if this happened for an account on which I’d owed money?  What if it was an account I’d had for several months and hadn’t been paying my bills? If suddenly that account was erased, my debt to the company would be cancelled. I would have my original account, the ‘identity’ I was given in my initial contract with the company, but without anything owed.


All of humanity has departed from our original identity, the identity God gave us in the beginning. He intended us to be His children living in obedience to Him.  We have forsaken the initial contract (covenant) with Him and have chosen a different way, the faulty way of self-rule. He has continued to show us mercy, but we have not repaid Him with equal love.  Instead, all mankind keeps sinning against Him, accumulating a debt we can never repay, which must eventually be met with justice.


God, however, allows us to put in a request for a fresh start. But the new identity He gives us isn't really new--it's actually the identity He intended for us to have in the first place! Once again we have the chance to be His children, obedient to Him--and eternally loved by Him! Our account of deviance is erased completely, with the balance of sin deleted, and we revert, through the cleansing blood of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit, back to the original plan, becoming the cherished sons and daughters of God that He has always wanted us to be.

Talkative Gifts, pt. 2

Last week I posted about how our gifts to God say a lot about our attitude towards Him.  I realized I could have worried some people with that post.  Someone may have thought, “I’m not rich. I don’t have enough to make great donations to the church or sponsor a child in Africa or fund an outreach.  How do I give God what He deserves?”

Take heart! It's not the gift itself that God looks at, but your heart in giving it. 

The Jews of Jesus’ time misunderstood God's idea of giving.  They thought if they gave a certain amount of their wealth to the temple and tithed a tenth of their garden produce, then God would look favorably on them.  Even Jesus’ disciples may have thought this.  But in a visit to the temple, Jesus showed them what part of the gift really matters to God.

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. (Mark 12:41-42)

Let’s stop right there.  Two coins?  Just two small copper coins?  If we were watching this scene, we might think, “She’s just like Cain, giving only enough to say she gave, but hardly enough to make a difference to anyone. She’s just trying to act good without really loving God.”

Men look at the outer appearance, but God looks at the heart.  Jesus recognized what was really behind that widow's gift.

“Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”  (Mark 12:43-44)

Jesus knew that widow.  He knew how little she owned, and how much she still desired to give to God.  God valued that widow’s offering more than the rest because even though she barely had anything, what she did give spoke of her love and trust in Him.

If you feel you have nothing to give God, but still yearn to show your love for Him, don’t be discouraged! Offer what you do have before Him. Tell Him it’s all His, and trust in His blessing.  He doesn’t compare gifts, only hearts.  Our God delights most in the gift that speaks of sacrificial love—love that will risk everything to honor Him.

Talkative Gifts, pt. 1

Gifts speak loudly.  They say a lot about the heart of the giver and the state of a relationship.  Often, we appreciate gifts from our friends and family regardless of what they are, because they represent the giver’s care for us.  But what if it was your birthday and a close friend came to you and said “Well I know it’s your birthday, which means I’m supposed to give you some kind of gift, so here’s something I happened to buy at the dollar store yesterday. I thought I could use it, but you can have it ‘cause it’s your birthday.”  They might not use so many words, but the gift itself would speak loud and clear about their offhanded attitude. You might even feel guilty for accepting it, because the gift was offered out of a sense of obligation, rather than love.  A true gift of love calls for intentionality and sacrifice on the part of the giver.  It speaks of time taken to consider the interests of the recipient and of the depth of feeling embedded in the relationship.

Abel, the second son of Adam and Eve, gave such a gift to God.  He offered the LORD ‘fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock’ (Genesis 4:4).  The flock would have been Abel’s sustenance, and he gave up the best, most valued parts of it, reflecting his desire to honor God.  His older brother Cain also brought a gift—“some of the fruits of the soil” (Genesis 4:3).  He also gave from his livelihood, but the description says nothing to indicate any care or quality involved in the gift.      

God “looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor” (Genesis 4:4).  Cain was angry and confused—hadn’t he also given a gift? Hadn’t he done his duty towards God?  But God caught what the gifts were saying about both Cain and Abel’s attitude towards Him.  He saw that although Cain offered a gift, his heart was not right towards God.  I think what Cain failed to understand is that God desires more from us than ritual offerings and dutiful worship.  It’s not the gift itself that matters to Him.  He longs for sincere, intimate, devoted relationship.  The gifts that win His favor are the ones that tell Him about our sincere, grateful, and passionate love for Him and all He’s given us. 

What are our gifts to God really saying?