Building Project

Commentating after a recent baseball game the announcer exclaimed, “Who would have thought they could score 12 runs without a single home run?” And, of course, it is natural to presume when great things are accomplished that it was through some prodigious individual effort. This is especially true when a team is trailing by a large margin and needs a lift. The greater the need the more we seem to look for the grand-slam that will fix everything for us. But great things have been accomplished through humble means.

In the story of the feeding of the 5,000 we see a group of apostles intimidated by the size of the need. Jesus asks Philip, “How are we going to feed these people?” The apostles are desperate. There are people everywhere. Finally Andrew mumbles, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?" (Jn 6:8-10) Here you have a group of guys with no jobs, out in the sticks, being asked by Jesus to feed 5,000 men! Meanwhile, nearby stands a boy who has offered his lunch.

During the last week of His life Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover. Luke writes that “Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.” ‘I tell you the truth,’ he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." (Lk 21:1-4) It almost makes one cringe to envision the wealthy making great theater with their spectacular offerings given to great approval, only to be followed by the widow who teeters up through the crowd and drops in her two pennies. I once made a modest contribution at a school fundraiser where a guy, a couple tables over gave a million dollars. I wanted to slip off to the men’s room and not come back! I don’t know the theology of school fundraisers, but God says that when it comes to giving to Him we are to do all we can without regard to what others may give.

You may be like the boy or the widow. I hope so, because though they may not have had much in the world’s eyes, that didn’t keep them from offering what they had. We simply cannot and must not be cowed by the size of the need or fear of what we think others might be thinking of us when it comes to giving to God. In the baseball game above, victory was accomplished by hard-earned walks, seeing-eye singles, and bloops over the third baseman’s head.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians regarding an offering promised for the believers in Jerusalem and said: “But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.” (2 Cor 8:11-13) May we be faithful to do what we can then to trust in the faithful God who meets our needs.

Please continue to give to the building fund!