Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2
“Giving isn’t about the receiver or the gift but the giver. It’s a sign of our spiritual discipline. We give because it’s the only concrete way we have of saying that we’re glad to be alive and well. Giving is a way of taking the focus off the money we make and putting it back where it belongs — on the lives we lead, the God we serve, the families we raise, the communities which nurture us. Our spiritual condition can be summed up with this prayer: “No matter what we say or do, God, this offering is what we think of you.”
H. Fred Bernhard in “Stewardship in the Small Church” in Giving: Growing Joyful Stewards in Your Congregation, vol. 19 (Richmond: ESC, 2017) 18.
Today is our 25th wedding anniversary. Jenni and I are celebrating this year with 25 special dates (two per month in 2017 and one today). I chose this post because I like the prayer as we celebrate this milestone together with God: “No matter what we say or do, God, this offering is what we think of you.” I love you Jenni! Thanks for offering yourself to God with me as a living sacrifice.
God, thank you for letting us live to celebrate 25 years of marriage together. You have carried us through sickness and health. Thanks for teaching us, by your Holy Spirit, that giving is not about the receivers or the gifts but about reflecting the love of Jesus to the world. Our marriage is our offering to you. May our lives bring you glory. May this be true of our brothers and sisters reading this too. Amen.