In response to a parishioner saying that tithing was outdated and was only an Old Testament idea and nowhere to be found in the New Testament, I once heard a pastor say, “You’re right. In the New Testament it says to give everything you have, not just ten percent!” The reference was to Acts 2 and Matthew 19 (the story of the rich man who asked Jesus how to obtain eternal life). Now, the pastor didn’t actually think people should go about giving away everything they owned, but he made his point.

If we give away all our money, we will have none left. If we give away all our food, we will have none. If we give away all our clothes and coats, we will have none. Simple math. But some things don’t follow the simple rules of math. Love is one of those things. If you give away all your love, you will have more. You simply can’t give away all of it because it will be replenished faster than you can give it away. Something happens when you share love. It multiplies and grows. So, go ahead, give all your love away. You’ll find you have more than when you started.

Read 1 John 4:7-19, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally!

Originally posted by our friend Annie on December 9, 2016