Giving According to What One Has

2 Samuel 6:1-15; 2 Corinthians 8:7-15; Mark 5:21-43

I think that most of us here today can say from experience that the power of God is something which is both impossible for us to fully comprehend, but, yet, is made available to us for anything and everything which may be necessary to fulfill the objectives of God's plan in our lives. This is a dichotomy. Indeed, it almost seems like a contradiction. And, yet, it is a reality which is a part of the richness of the Christian faith: That while the power of God is unfathomable, it is something that is, nevertheless, within our reach.

The power of God was something that presented this sort of a dichotomy to David, as he was moving the Ark of the Covenant to the city of Jerusalem, after he had taken the city from the Jebusites. The Ark of the Covenant, if you remember, or if you saw the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark," was the box which had been constructed by Moses and Aaron to carry the tablets of the Ten Commandments as the People of God made their way through the Wilderness to the Promised Land. To the people of Israel, the Ark of the Covenant represented the power and presence of God in their midst. And, with time, they actually believed that some of God's fantastic power was somehow channeled through the box from heaven into our world. And, who knows? Maybe that is actually the way it was.

So, the bible contains stories of how the Ark of the Covenant had to be handled very carefully, lest someone be killed by the power which emanated from the box. And there are some amazing, even humorous, stories in the Old Testament of how the Philistines captured the box but had to return it to the Israelites because of the damage it was causing.

And in our Old Testament lesson for today we are told of how as the ark was being moved from the house of Abinadab, at Beulah, towards Jerusalem, one of Abinadab's sons, Uzzah, a good man, was killed as he impulsively reached out and touched the box in order to steady it. And we're told that David had a terrible time trying to understand how this could have happened, if God was a righteous, good, and caring God.

Nevertheless, as David considered the good things which God's power did, he became convinced that he really wanted the Ark of the Covenant on Mt. Moriah, in Jerusalem, the new capital of Israel. For although it carried with it a potential for destroying, it also carried with it the greater potential for good.

Of course, this reminds us that power in any form, whether it is fire, or wind, or nuclear energy, or electricity, or technology, or anything else, can be used as a blessing or as a curse if it gets out of control or is improperly handled, or abused, or if God is forgotten in the process. And, of course, all of these powers are gifts to us from God. So, it is up to us to handle those powers lovingly, wisely and carefully, and with respect for God, or else deal with the consequences of their misuse.

Indeed, as we look around our world, today, we can see how the misuse of the powers that God has entrusted to us have often caused damage to creation. The abuse of fluoro-carbons is damaging the earth's ozone layer, thus endangering all living things upon the planet. The abuse of fossil fuels has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, thus bringing about an increase in the earth's average temperature. The use of nuclear power, while offering blessings in many ways, also has the potential of for the mass extinction of all life upon the planet. Even the power of light, itself, can be abused by those who forget that God is Light.

But, there is one aspect of the power of God that we should mention. This aspect of God's power is described in today's Epistle Lesson. The apostle Paul described this power as being as important as the power of faith, as important as the power of speech, and as important as the power of knowledge. For Paul this amazing power was the grace of giving.

One of the most powerful things we can do in this life is to give. For, as we give of our time, our treasures, and our talents to serve God, whatever it is that we may give is magnified and empowered to do so much more than it could do if we just kept it for ourselves.

I remember the story about a poor little boy who went to church one Sunday and saw all the big people putting money into the offering plate. He didn't have anything to give but the five marbles he had in his pocket. So, reaching his hand into his pocket, he pulled the marbles out and put them into the offering plate! The folks around him must have smiled as they saw the strange offering drop in. But, after the meeting, one of the ushers asked the child if he wanted his marbles back. "Oh, no," he answered, "I gave them to Jesus!"

As the story was told from one member to another, a business man said, "I'll give a hundred dollars for each of that boy's marbles." So, what had only been marbles in a boy's pocket became $500 in the hands of God.

I remember a church out in Iowa I pastored for six years. While I was there a woman died and left $60,000 to the church. Now, immediately, upon receiving that money, there was a great temptation among many on the Administrative Board to put that money into a bank account and use the interest to pay bills so that the members wouldn't have to give as much. And, so, for a while, that's what they did. But, what happened? Over a period of time, even with the interest coming from the bank, the church couldn't pay all their bills. So, the Administrative Board took the $60,000 out of the bank and bought the house next door to the church, tore it down, and built a parking lot. And, what happened? Well, first, because the members knew that they didn't have a treasure chest in the bank to draw upon, anymore, their giving increased, once again. And, then, new people started to come to the church not only because the increased parking made the church more appealing to them, but also because, with the house next door to the church gone, the church was simply more visible. So, in effect, the church's willingness to give up something turned out to be very powerful, indeed.

There are many things that we keep close to us and guard because we think those things are valuable. It may be a talent. It may be a treasure. It may be our time. But, there is no greater value for what ever that prize may be than when we offer it to God.

God's power certainly is unfathomable. And the wonderfully awesome thing about it is that God trusts us with that power. As our gospel lesson for today attests, that power may be used to heal, it may be used to comfort the bereaved, to feed the hungry, and to bring hope to the desperate. That power may be in our hands, right now. May we all remember who it is that gives the power and pray that we use it wisely. Amen.