Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Malachi 3:10 NIV
God said, “Test me with the tithe.” I was thinking about all the times that I have tested God to see if what His word said was truth. In all the trials, I can say that He always comes through. The question that often comes to mind is, “How can we repay God for all that He has done for us?” I think the answer is simple, learning to walk in obedience to the calling that the Father places upon our hearts. We all have different spiritual gifts given by the Father that help grow the kingdom of God. The stories below reflect the spiritual gift of giving.
What would happen if you sewed into the kingdom, believing you have already received the blessing? This reminds me of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. I like to think of this story of making “wise investments.” Take a look at the passage before you read any further. Let your thoughts ponder on this piece of scripture. What would you do with the talents? Which servant do you relate to? I think this question is bigger than meets the eye. How we walk depends on the season we are in. There are many seasons throughout our lives and as Christians we should be working towards obtaining a maturity and wisdom that sustains each season. Righteousness and obedience play a huge role in the decisions we make through all of life’s changes. At the same time, a non-Christian could be up for the test to see what happens, and end up getting saved when they see the outcome.
In the parable of the talents, two of the master’s servants doubled their talents and the other one buried it making nothing. The master rewarded the first two because they doubled their talents out of faithfulness. The one that buried the talent had no faith and was scared of losing what he had. The ones that doubled their talents gained favor from the master. He trusted them with more because they took a chance or you could say stepped out in faith. When it comes to the kingdom of God, maxing it all out brings great blessings to our lives.
Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” Matthew 12:41-44 NKJV
The widow had nothing but in faith, she sewed all she had into the kingdom of God. Her heart was right and she believed. For example, if you think about it, she may have given more than the rich people. When you give, they always say ten percent of your total income is a tithe. For example, Let’s say someone earning a million dollars a year at the ten percent tithe would give one hundred thousand dollars and someone earning ten thousand dollars a year would give one thousand dollars. Abundance is defined by the sacrifice of the gift. The million-dollar income earner would have more disposable income and not feel the loss of the investment. Comparing this example to Matthew 12:41-44, the widow gave the last coin she had. She did not give ten percent she gave 100 percent because she gave all she had. So, you can see that it’s not the size of the gift, but the size of the sacrifice. It is less about how much and more about faithfulness. It’s not the amount, it’s the level of our heart, the ability to trust and the magnitude of our faith. The widow stepped out in obedience believing that God would provide for her needs. When your heart is in it, trusting in Him and His word, anything is possible. He says, “Test me here.” This may be your biggest weakness but as you never remove this one thing, you’ll be blown away from the outcome! May you be up for the test and may your life be changed forever by the goodness of God!
God Bless you and may you prosper in all areas of your life!