We are preparing as a church to take part in the annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO). Pastor Ken recently did a great post on the history of this effort, if you missed it be sure and read it here. I love taking part in the LMCO and I love that it happens during the Christmas season each year. I cannot think of a more appropriate time of the year for a missions offering. As we are celebrating the greatest gift that has ever been given, Christ our Savior, we taking part in a giving effort that is solely focused on making sure all hear of this great gift. The gifts given to LMCO are all sent straight to the foreign mission field.
If you were able to gather with us for worship this past Sunday, then you heard one of our Elders, John Keese’s pastoral prayer. As he prayed, he asked God to help us to not just give out of habit, but to give sacrificially. This is so significant, because we can have the habit of giving noting or the habit of giving something, yet without prayerful consideration.
I want to encourage you to prayerfully consider how the Lord would have you take part in this missions effort. What would sacrifice above and beyond your normal giving look like? What is the Lord calling you to do? Let me clearly state that I am in no way seeking to manipulate or guilt anyone into giving to this effort. I am well aware that the Lord may not be calling all to give to this effort, but for you to focus your resources elsewhere. God calls us to give cheerfully not under compulsion (2 Cor. 9:6-8) and according to our means (1 Cor. 16:2). However, God does challenge us to grow in our giving as we are motivated by His great gift to us in Christ (2 Cor. 8:9; 9:6-8).
With this in mind, I wanted to offer some practical thoughts on how you can grow in giving and specifically regarding the LMCO. Here are some ideas:
Is there something you could forgo, such as a coffee or a meal out, and set that money aside for the offering?
You may choose to do this once or several times over the next few weeks.
Could you commit to giving as much to this offering as you spend on the average Christmas gift you will purchase this year?
Could you commit to giving as much to this offering as you spend on the most expensive Christmas gift you will purchase this year?
Would you be willing to humble yourself and give that small amount you are able to give instead of not giving it and thinking “what difference would it make”?
You may do something completely different, but the goal is to get us to not give out of habit. We want to prayerfully consider what a sacrificial gift for each of us will look like and then, by God’s grace, be obedient. I would encourage our young families to involve your children in this consideration so they are discipled in what sacrificial giving looks like (and feels like!).
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich…Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” -Cor. 8:9; 9:15
Written by Matt Baker