I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES: EASTER LEAVES
J. Grant Swank, Jr.
"What shall we give to world missions this Easter?" one of our children asked us after Sunday worship.
Those in the congregation were looking forward to the annual ingathering for missions support around the globe. Believers were planning to give largely and sacrificially.
"What is it that we usually give?" my wife asked the children.
"You and Dad give a week's salary, don't you?"
"That's right. But all of us in the family help in that giving, remember?"
So true. Everyone counted up pennies, nickels and dimes, even some greenbacks, in an attempt to make the world missions offering quite special from our household.
We projected our missions offering weeks in advance so that it would not catch us unawares. In that way, the giving did not cause too much of a squeeze; however, we did want to feel the pinch so that we could realize that our giving was sacrificial.
"It is rewarding to see the children setting aside some ice cream money, a roller skating rink ticket amount and some candy dimes," I pondered one evening after the children had gone to bed. They were doing their part. My wife and I hoped that it would be one more learning process in knowing that one cannot outgive God.
I had read that one writer believed that our affluent society had taken present-day money-hunger "over the line" into being psychotic; he pointed out that we had simply gone over the bounds in spending, most of it needlessly.
We had worked against that in our Christian home. We did not want our next generation to grow up with their priorities other than the Bible's. So it was that we constantly put before our children God's way of managing money, beginning with giving Him His tithe weekly, and then adding to that our love gifts besides.
"How are we doing?" my son asked me one week before the missions offering was to be received at church.
"We are fifteen dollars short," I explained realistically.
"Where are we going to get it?" was the next question. And it was a good one. I simply did not know how we could come up with that last fifteen dollars in order to make our commitment. So I left his inquiry unanswered until God showed us how to do it.
One evening that week I looked at our check book to realize that it would be a matter of hours until I would write out that missions check for the sanctuary offering plate. I did not want us to fall short. We had always given a week's salary; so there would be no slipping back this time.
I recalled over a quarter of a century before when my wife and I were first married. It was then that we covenanted with God to give that week's salary to missions. What a start we had one morning when being invited to lunch with some parishioners new to the congregation.
"Here, I want you to read this. It's a very good book," the hostess said as she passed me a hardback upon leaving her home that sunny afternoon.
I thanked her, got into the car and handed the book to my wife. She leafed through it, noting an envelope dropping from its pages. Inside that crisp, white envelope was a friendship card that held a check for the amount we needed to make up our missions giving that year.
What a surprise! And yet it was that beginning which proved an on-going adventure in faith with God. He had never let us down.
Therefore, one morning after taking the children to school, I felt a strong urge to get a large trash bag from the garage. With that in hand, I walked out of the house toward an empty lot beside our house, intending to pick up debris which had been collecting over the previous weeks.
As I stooped over to pick up a piece of newspaper that had flown against some thorn bushes, my eye caught sight of what looked to be money. "Must be play money!" was my immediate thought. So I took a second look.
It was a dollar bill. I picked it up, noting that it had been wedged between some wet leaves. I had to handle it carefully for it was about to tear apart because of the damage done to it by the weather.
Gingerly peeling back the dollar, I noted a second one-dollar bill beneath the first. And underneath that was a five-dollar bill. And underneath that was a ten-dollar bill! Seventeen dollars total!
I ran back into the house where my wife was baking cookies.
Without saying a word, I placed the decomposing bills in the center of the kitchen table. She turned around from the sink, walked slowly toward the table and said, "What is that?"
"I found it outside, beneath some leaves. Seventeen dollars in all."
She started to smile, the two of us thinking the same thoughts. God had indeed hidden his treasure, His wonderful blessing among the leaves--wet and gooey as they were.
"We have our fifteen dollars for the missions offering," she said, laughing with thanksgiving between each word.
"And two more dollars besides," I responded. "God gives just a little extra to prove His outlandish love for the children who love Him, too. He adds a bonus to remind us of His promise to supply all our need according to those riches in heaven provided by Jesus."
What a happy family we were that next Sunday when it came time to worship Him with our offerings!
But more: "I can't wait to tell everyone at school tomorrow," my daughter exclaimed when she came home from classes to learn of the finding. My son agreed he was going to share the good news with his pals, too.
I was glad then not only for the surprise blessing from above but the assurance that God was indeed teaching our children the lesson of giving with cheerful and faith-filled hearts.
For more: http://conservativeposts.us/ <http://conservativeposts.us/>
"What shall we give to world missions this Easter?" one of our children asked us after Sunday worship.
Those in the congregation were looking forward to the annual ingathering for missions support around the globe. Believers were planning to give largely and sacrificially.
"What is it that we usually give?" my wife asked the children.
"You and Dad give a week's salary, don't you?"
"That's right. But all of us in the family help in that giving, remember?"
So true. Everyone counted up pennies, nickels and dimes, even some greenbacks, in an attempt to make the world missions offering quite special from our household.
We projected our missions offering weeks in advance so that it would not catch us unawares. In that way, the giving did not cause too much of a squeeze; however, we did want to feel the pinch so that we could realize that our giving was sacrificial.
"It is rewarding to see the children setting aside some ice cream money, a roller skating rink ticket amount and some candy dimes," I pondered one evening after the children had gone to bed. They were doing their part. My wife and I hoped that it would be one more learning process in knowing that one cannot outgive God.
I had read that one writer believed that our affluent society had taken present-day money-hunger "over the line" into being psychotic; he pointed out that we had simply gone over the bounds in spending, most of it needlessly.
We had worked against that in our Christian home. We did not want our next generation to grow up with their priorities other than the Bible's. So it was that we constantly put before our children God's way of managing money, beginning with giving Him His tithe weekly, and then adding to that our love gifts besides.
"How are we doing?" my son asked me one week before the missions offering was to be received at church.
"We are fifteen dollars short," I explained realistically.
"Where are we going to get it?" was the next question. And it was a good one. I simply did not know how we could come up with that last fifteen dollars in order to make our commitment. So I left his inquiry unanswered until God showed us how to do it.
One evening that week I looked at our check book to realize that it would be a matter of hours until I would write out that missions check for the sanctuary offering plate. I did not want us to fall short. We had always given a week's salary; so there would be no slipping back this time.
I recalled over a quarter of a century before when my wife and I were first married. It was then that we covenanted with God to give that week's salary to missions. What a start we had one morning when being invited to lunch with some parishioners new to the congregation.
"Here, I want you to read this. It's a very good book," the hostess said as she passed me a hardback upon leaving her home that sunny afternoon.
I thanked her, got into the car and handed the book to my wife. She leafed through it, noting an envelope dropping from its pages. Inside that crisp, white envelope was a friendship card that held a check for the amount we needed to make up our missions giving that year.
What a surprise! And yet it was that beginning which proved an on-going adventure in faith with God. He had never let us down.
Therefore, one morning after taking the children to school, I felt a strong urge to get a large trash bag from the garage. With that in hand, I walked out of the house toward an empty lot beside our house, intending to pick up debris which had been collecting over the previous weeks.
As I stooped over to pick up a piece of newspaper that had flown against some thorn bushes, my eye caught sight of what looked to be money. "Must be play money!" was my immediate thought. So I took a second look.
It was a dollar bill. I picked it up, noting that it had been wedged between some wet leaves. I had to handle it carefully for it was about to tear apart because of the damage done to it by the weather.
Gingerly peeling back the dollar, I noted a second one-dollar bill beneath the first. And underneath that was a five-dollar bill. And underneath that was a ten-dollar bill! Seventeen dollars total!
I ran back into the house where my wife was baking cookies.
Without saying a word, I placed the decomposing bills in the center of the kitchen table. She turned around from the sink, walked slowly toward the table and said, "What is that?"
"I found it outside, beneath some leaves. Seventeen dollars in all."
She started to smile, the two of us thinking the same thoughts. God had indeed hidden his treasure, His wonderful blessing among the leaves--wet and gooey as they were.
"We have our fifteen dollars for the missions offering," she said, laughing with thanksgiving between each word.
"And two more dollars besides," I responded. "God gives just a little extra to prove His outlandish love for the children who love Him, too. He adds a bonus to remind us of His promise to supply all our need according to those riches in heaven provided by Jesus."
What a happy family we were that next Sunday when it came time to worship Him with our offerings!
But more: "I can't wait to tell everyone at school tomorrow," my daughter exclaimed when she came home from classes to learn of the finding. My son agreed he was going to share the good news with his pals, too.
I was glad then not only for the surprise blessing from above but the assurance that God was indeed teaching our children the lesson of giving with cheerful and faith-filled hearts.
For more: http://conservativeposts.us/ <http://conservativeposts.us/>
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