Jesus Wants You
Most preachers will tell you they don’t like preaching a “stewardship sermon.” I have to admit that I am one of them. Who wants to talk about money? It seems so, well, unspiritual! But that’s a category mistake because stewardship is not about money—at least, not initially. Allow me to explain.
A verse in 2 Corinthians struck me this week like a two-by-four. This is the letter where for two chapters (8-9), Paul talks about generous giving—not the weekly offering—but for famine relief in Jerusalem. It was an issue that preoccupied Paul for three years. Then, later in the epistle, he says this:
Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you (2 Cor. 12:14a).
We need not detain ourselves as to why Paul was making a third trip to Corinth or the accusations of some that he had failed to keep his promise. What gripped me was the real reason for Paul’s desire to visit, “It’s not your money I want, it’s you. I want your hearts!”
Can’t you hear that echo elsewhere? A wife saying to her husband, “It’s not your money I want, it’s you.” A teenage child begging an estranged parent, “It’s not gifts I want, it’s you.”
It’s as though Paul was saying, “I don’t want it said of you, ‘they honor me with their tithes, but their hearts are far from me’” (cf. Matt. 15:8).
Generous giving is the outflow of a heart that loves Jesus and loves those who belong to him. They give because their hearts are in tune with the Savior. When your heart is in love, you won’t ask, “Is this enough?”
It’s stewardship season again.A time to reflect upon giving—generous giving. Check these verses, 2 Corinthians 8:20 and 9:11. But before you do that, check your pulse. Is it beating in love for the Savior?
It should. There are a million reasons why it should.
Derek W.H. Thomas
Senior Minister
