A Sacrifice of Praise

I am absolutely blown away! Yesterday at ACC was a WOW moment. When I woke up it was freezing and rainy. It was the type of day that makes you want to crawl back in bed. I have to admit I dreaded going to church. For the past several weeks, God has been speaking to me about generosity as a tangible example of his love for our community (I know, this is a no-brainer), but I have really been struggling with how to move it past simple God-speak, to a place of missional action for ACC.

Yesterday, I shared from Mark 12: 41-44:

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

The point was simple. Jesus teaches that we are to give out of our sacrifice and not merely out of our abundance. This principal is taught over and over in the Scripture. In Matthew 5:41, Jesus instructs, “If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” Why? Because the first mile is obligation…it is under our own power…out of our abundance. The second mile however, is where we move beyond ourselves, our obligation, to a place of purpose and sacrifice…the second mile moves beyond our own power to the place that only God can take us.

At the end of the service on Sunday, I took a risk. A couple of weeks ago, our church started collecting coats for those less fortunate in our community. Therefore, I wanted to challenge the people of ACC to put what God was teaching into practice…to give out of their sacrifice…to give the very coat off of their backs to bless those less fortunate. I stood amazed and even somewhat cynical that anyone would give. However, I was taken aback, when one by one the coats began to pile up on the stage before me. Some gave their favorite coat. Some gave a coat that had sentimental value. Some gave the only coat they had. I fought back tears as I watched our church offer up a sacrifice of praise to God.

After the service, as people headed for their cars in the cold rain, some in short sleeve shirts, I reflected on the painful, uncomfortable sacrifice of Jesus. I thanked God for the opportunity to witness a living illustration of such love. It was a landmark day in the life of ACC.