The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the incense,and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.
Leviticus 2:2 (NIV)

This is the first winter in fifteen years that Wendy and I are not making plans for stocking our place at the lake for a summer full of people. Normally, Wendy would be making all of the lists of supplies from toilet paper to condiments and cleaning supplies. March was often the month we would make our first trip to the lake of the season and make a Walmart run to fill the carts with needed supplies for the summer.

I observed a few things about human nature over the years of having the Playhouse. When Wendy and I stocked the house, we always stocked it with the same food and supplies we use at home every day. If something ran out in the course of the summer, I found that it was typically replaced by the cheapest, lowest quality alternative one could be find available at the Dollar Store. By the way, I’m not pointing my finger at anyone here. My own mother was the worst at this, God rest her soul.

A few years ago I had the task of announcing our local gathering of Jesus’ followers annual food offering. Everyone was asked to purchase a couple of food items to contribute to those in need. Remembering my observations at the Lake House, I reminded my fellow Jesus followers that this was an offering, a gift, and an opportunity to show extravagant generosity. What if the people who need and receive these gifts, rather than getting the cheapest, easiest “Best Value” brand item I can find on the shelf at Walmart are instead blessed to receive some of the highest quality, most expensive speciality item at Whole Foods?

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post/podcast, it’s my choice.

Which do I believe Jesus would prefer from me?

Today’s chapter continues the newbie Hebrew priests’ guide to the five types of offerings they will be accepting at the altar of God’s traveling tent temple known as the Tabernacle. Today’s chapter describes “grain” offerings, and there were different options that people had. We have to remember that this nation of Hebrews wandering in the wilderness were an agrarian society. There were no corporate or tech jobs. The people raised their own livestock and grew their own crops to survive. With that came a dependence on and partnership with God to survive and thrive. I believe we’ve lost a sense of that partnership and dependence with God in our modern society. Grain offerings were also called “first fruit” offerings. The first and best of the harvest was brought as a present of gratitude and offered to God as a generous expression of thanks and devotion.

Along my own life journey, I confess that this is a lesson that I’ve had to personally learn. I did not grow up, by nature, a generous person. Quite the opposite, I was both selfish and foolish with my money and resources. Learning to be generous required of me a continuous process of repentance and a conscious change of heart over a period of time. What I’ve observed over time is that Wendy and I have never regretted being generous. We have learned that the more generous we are the more we realize what we don’t need, the more we understand that nothing we have was ever really ours, and the more blessing we personally experience.

The following Sunday as people brought their food offerings to worship, I had a friend pull me aside. Our friend has an adult sister with special needs who had asked her to drive her to the store so she could take some of her own money buy some items for the food offering. As they stood in front of the shelves of food, her sister asked her, “Where’s the good stuff? Tom said we should get the good stuff!”

I couldn’t help but immediately think about Jesus thanking His Father in heaven that the things of God’s Kingdom are lost on the “wise and learned” of this world while being perfectly clear to little children and the least imaginable individuals.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself once again repentant of the remnants of selfishness and greed that exist in me. I am regretful of taking so long to learn even the simplest Kingdom lessons about gratitude and generosity. I am grateful for having learned the fact that I never regret being generous in my gratitude and gifts to God and others.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.