January 29, 2015
Temple Treasury
Each church has its own practice
in collecting tithes and offerings and most of us are accustomed to free
standing receptacles, or passing offering plates throughout the congregation. During
a recent church visit I was preparing to contribute to the offering until the
pastor invited us to bring our gifts, tithes and offerings before the Lord. Similar
to an altar call, people began to slowly leave their seats and go to the front
of the auditorium. With praise songs and music as a backdrop, worshippers put
their contributions in a bowl that was placed in a prominent place below the
podium. It felt awkward to watch people deposit their gifts and yet it shouldn’t
have. “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 fraction of a penny”
(Mark 12:41-42 NIV).
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Gail;
-----God gave us the ability to determine the truth in general. The more minute details of it we don’t know. That is where personal meaning comes in. For some, the box sitting in the back of the sanctuary is meaning. To some it’s the passed plates. I can see how this filing past an offering receptacle could be meaningful in part by its having a scriptural example. Its like the praise team of the church you visited a while back who removed their shoes before performing…uh…leading the praise. I think all of these different meanings are like a meadow of many pleasing scents and sights to the Lord sprinkled generously around the general truth of giving. We fill in the blanks not with what we think is true, but with what expresses some meaning to the Lord and others. So there is much variety. So there is much meaning. It is a good way to handle the dimlyness (nitd) by which we now see as if in a mirror.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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