God Owns Everything!
"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should
be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come
from You, and of Your own we have given You."
1 Chronicles 29:14
In churches that follow The Book of Common Prayer, when it
comes time to collect the congregation’s financial offerings, the
leader chooses several suggested verses to recite. A frequently
used invitation to worship by giving is from 1 Chronicles 29:14:
“All things come of thee,
and of thine own have we given thee”
The context of that verse in First Chronicles is striking. King David
is praying following overwhelmingly generous offering of Israel’s
leaders, including David himself, to fund the building of the temple.
As David prays, he becomes forcefully aware that the people’s
ability to give is because God had first given to them.
They were only giving to God what was already His: “and of
Your own we have given You.” When we give to God, we
don’t
give from our own to Him; we give from His own that which He
gave to us.
God owns everything—including all that we have.
What impact should that have on our use of time,
talent, and treasure?
"The steward needs an open hand to receive
from God and then an active hand to give to
God and to others."
Murray J. Harris
