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Stewardship Season
As baptized people we are committed to Christ, and we demonstrate part of our commitment by giving authority and respect to his teachings. One that we sometimes overlook is this: “The Lord loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9: 7)
One of the sad things I have noticed in my forty-seven years of ordained ministry is that one of the quickest ways to turn people off is to mention the topic of money. This is always a tender topic. Perhaps that is because people see themselves as the owners of their financial resources. And most of us don’t like to be told what to do with your possessions. But I suspect there is something more at work here. Money represents power, and to give it away means losing part of our ability to shape things according to our own will.
So, one reason the Lord loves a cheerful giver is because it means the giver is presenting part of himself or herself to God. It represents an act of trust and worship to the One from who all blessings flow. In making a pledge to the cathedral for 2023 you are stating that you want your power to merge with God’s power in order for the will of God to be among us and in the world. I will be blunt. That stands as an immensely important act of praise to our Maker and Redeemer.
Please pray for the will to be a cheerful giver.
Bishop Frank
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