“Now we make an offering to Him, not as though He stood in need of it, but rendering thanks for His gift, and thus sanctifying what has been created. For even as God does not need our possessions, so do we need to offer something to God…
For God, who stands in need of nothing, takes our good works to Himself for this purpose, that He may grant us a recompense of His own good things, as our Lord says: Come, you blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you. For I was an hungry, and you gave Me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and you took Me in: naked, and you clothed Me; sick, and you visited Me; in prison, and you came to Me. Matthew 25:34.
As, therefore, He does not stand in need of these [services], yet does desire that we should render them for our own benefit, lest we be unfruitful; so did the Word give to the people that very precept as to the making of oblations, although He stood in no need of them, that they might learn to serve God…”
Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202) in Against Heresies 4.18.6.
Many heresies emerged in the second century. Some doubted the deity of Christ, so related to giving, generosity was imperative to make up for any insufficiencies in Jesus. Not! Others argued that such offerings and service won the favor of God; consequently, good works were performed with the belief that they helped the doer earn their eternal salvation. Wrong again!
Irenaeus, a student of Polycarp who in turn was a disciple of John, wrote his multi-volume work Against Heresies to refute such notions in his day, and I guess you could say I post meditations with the same aim today. So in the spirit of John, Polycarp, and Irenaeus…remember…
God does not need our offerings, but we need to give them. When we make gifts to the poor, God sees them as given to Him. Let us sanctify or set ourselves and our resources apart unto Him in our hearts and model the way for others. Lastly, let us combine generous giving with sacrificial service, again, not because God depends it but so that we might grow and be fruitful.