Spring at Resurrection is budget time. Unlike the State of California, our constituents insist on having a balanced budget before the fiscal year begins. For us, unlike the state, our budget does not determine how far the taxes taken out of people's salaries will stretch. Instead, our budget is a measure of the involvement and generosity of the people of God. Every dollar we use to support the ministry of Resurrection Lutheran Church is a freely given contribution, or is it? If it is a gift, like a birthday gift, the recipient or the gift should accept it with gratitude for it is the thought that counts. Some how it seems odd that God Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth should be grateful to us. The words of the prayer we use to dedicate our offering say that "we return to God what God has first given us, signs of his gracious love." That put our offering more in line with what a child gives to a parent, but there is still a problem. In reality, a child owns nothing, but every parent knows a gift from a child is always precious and God is no exception.

The question is, do we always remain young children in the sight of God? The Bible makes it pretty clear that God expects to mature spiritually. Paul tells us that his purpose and the purpose of his fellow servants in Christ is that each of us "may stand mature and fully assured in everything that God wills" (Eph. 4:12) As we mature the nature of our relationship with God changes. "If any one is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." NRS 2 Corinthians 5:17-20

When we become more mature like an adult child we become fellow workers in the ministry God has entrusted to Jesus.

This puts a whole different slant on our budgeting process. Now we are budgeting not with our gifts but with the resources that God has entrusted us with in order to carry the mission we have been entrusted with. St. Paul puts it this way;
"Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.
(NRS 1 Corinthians 4:1-2)

A steward is a person entrusted with the whole wealth of the master and they are expected to use that wealth to carry out the masters wishes. Now there is nothing gift-like at all about our offering. It is not a gift at all; it is a statement of personal commitment to God's will and the ministry we have been entrusted with.

This is probably a good place to discuss the difference between tithes and offerings. A tithe is the money given to support the ministry that God had entrusted us with. It is the Master's share of the gifts we have been entrusted with. The old Testament sets the amount of the tithe at ten percent. An offering in this context is a gift given to God over and above the tithe. Understanding tithes and offerings makes a whole lot more sense when we understand ourselves as a people entrusted by God with a mission, the stewards of God's ministries. God expects us to grow up. There is a whole world to reconcile!

So as we look at budgeting this year, lets remember our calling and be good stewards for a God who loves and trusts us to carry out his will.

Pastor Jim Bliss