769
THE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S shaped openings into which worshippers might drop their gifts for the Lord’s work; hence it was sometimes called the Treasury. It was here that our Lord was with His disciples on that last Tuesday before His crucifixion. As it was the Passover season, the court was probably crowded with men and women making their offerings. Doubtless there was a variety of motives behind the gifts, as there would be in any of our churches today; but the narrative gives us no hint that the rich men were other than sincere in what they gave. Not the motive, but the measure of the love is the point of the incident. The rich men gave and gave largely; but did riot give so much that they had to forego any pleasure, or luxury, to say nothing of necessity. This does not prove that they did not-love God, or that they gave from a base motive. It only shows that they were not carried out of themselves by their devotion. They were exactly like the overwhelm ing majority of us today, no better and no worse. The poor woman gave but two mites, equal to about a half a cent. This was the very smallest amount that, according to the rabbis, could be rec ognized as an offering. The Master commended her gift because of the lavishness of it. He said it was “all the living that she had.” Hers was the reckless abandon of love. This was giving like unto God’s when he gave all that He had—His only begotten Son. The rich men gave gifts that they did not miss; the poor woman gave a gift that left her penniless, added her heart to it, and became by doing so a millionaire of HEAVEN. She may have gone supperless to bed; but she had meat to eat that the world knows not of. Call it sacrificial giving if you choose; but she would not call it any sacrifice. Love never sacrifices. You and I may see the sacrifice, but the lover never sees it. “A cheerful (i. e. a hilarious) giver” is the kind the Lord loves.
II. Our Gifts to Our Fellows, Luke 6:30-38. 1. To whom we are to give. “Everyone that asketh of thee.” In our own prosperous land we can hardly realize the poverty of an eastern land, nor of the beggary it produces. But even here we have some poor who appeal to us for help. The beggar’s need is the only necessary plea. The fact that he cannot repay the gift is not to be taken into consideration, Even an enemy is not to be shut out from our giving, nor an evil man, for even the worst is still a fellow-sinner as well as a fellow-man. 2. How are we to give? “As the children of the Highest.” This command to give may be thought to be absurd and impracticable by men of the world, and it is all that from their point of view. The real Chris tian, however, does not take the world’s standard for his own conduct. He has become, through faith, a child of the Highest (cp. John 1:12; Gal. 3:26) and fixes ‘his standards accordingly by what his Father and Elder Brother do and say. 3. The spirit of our giving. “Love your enemies.” This is cer tainly contrary to the trend of human nature. And yet, God loves His enemies and does them good. If God’s Spirit dwells in us, we will certainly do as God does in this matter, not looking for payment. The joy of helping some one in need is itself recompense suf ficient, because love must find an out let. “The fruit of the Spirit (God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in us) is love.” The real Christian does not love his enemies because he is coinmanded to do so, but because it is the natural working of his new nature. One can not love by law, any more than he can be hungry by law, or satisfied by law. 4. The reward of our giving. What greater joy ever came to a true
Made with FlippingBook Online document