"So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity (under compulsion); for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:6, emphasis mine)
My 4-year old loves offering time. At my church, while the adults sit there looking bored while the baskets are passed, the kids go to the front and place their offering in a bucket on the edge of the platform. We always go up with Abigail as she joyfully throws her dollar (or 5 or 20) into the bucket. Before I go to work, I sometimes tell her that I need to go work so we can have money to give to God at church. She gets it and she loves it! We are raising a cheerful giver!
We are able to raise a cheerful giver because we are cheerful givers. Seriously. There have been seasons when we have looked forward to the offering as much as any other part of the service!
So why are we cheerful givers? The verse above is the number one reason, in my book, to be a cheerful giver. God loves it when we give cheerfully. If you search the Bible, you will find a bunch of things God loves and some He hates. When the Bible says that God Himself loves something, that's where I want to be.
The kids at our church are engaged in their offering. They physically get up and bring their offering before the Lord. Now, there's no magic in walking your offering to the front of the room. But, there is power in being connected to your giving. I challenge you to engage your heart in your giving. Smile and celebrate His goodness as you give. The promise of Scripture is that, when we give happily, it brings pleasure to the Father. We have the amazing privilege of bringing pleasure to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. So, smile when you give and know that He is smiling back :)
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