"For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you." (1 Chronicles 29:14)
At Intercession we say this as we give our offertory to God. At the Offertory, we are bringing up our firstfruits---the best and first of our labors---to give back to God from what God has provided us. In the Old Testament, these were usually fruits, or grain, or some product of Creation. But, for most of us, what we harvest comes in monetary form, so our offering comes in monetary form. For symbolism's sake, the form doesn't matter; it represents the best and first of our labors as a thanksgiving in return for all that God has provided us (which is everything, folks).
However, we often think of money as ours....we earned it....it came from our hard labor, our skills, our abilities. As soon as we think of it as our own, it becomes harder to give up.
The Offertory is a consecrated moment in the worship service to remind us that our ability to work, our skills, our gifts all come from God. This life, this creation.....all come from God. This money, this harvest, was never ours. It is always God's. But, it is provided for us so that we might live abundantly, and so that we might insure that our neighbors live abundantlly.
Just as Jesus gave of himself in order that all might have life....just as Jesus was willing to be broken in order that all might know God and abundant life.....we too must give of ourselves; we too must be willing to allow what we have to be broken in order for it to be shared. This is how abundant life is experienced and lived. We give; it is blessed; it is broken into pieces; it is shared. Isn't it amazing how brokenness is turned into salvation?
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