29 March, 2024

Gifts that Make God Smile

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by | 23 September, 2012 | 0 comments

By Jeff Anderson

Autumn Joy toddled across the room and stood at the edge of my laptop-centered view. I was in task mode, typing away in my living room recliner. My 18-month-old daughter looked up at me, her Shirley Temple curls bouncing around her face. Then she handed me a plastic doughnut from her kitchen play set.

I looked at the doughnut my toddler had just given me and then back at her again. She was waiting for a response. So I lifted the doughnut to my mouth and said with great animation, “Yummm, ymmm . . . thank you, Autumn! This is soooo goood.”

Then something beautiful happened. Her big brown eyes widened, and her lips pushed a giant smile against her puffy cheeks. She stood up on her toes and let out a high-pitched squeal.

After soaking in the experience for a few seconds, she ran back to her kitchen and brought me a little pink spoon. Again, I responded, showing her my approval. This cycle continued a few more times as I began to collect plastic pieces from her kitchen set.

For Autumn, this gift exercise kept bringing her back to Daddy. For me, it kept me looking forward to my child”s return. I was moved by the exchange . . . the interaction . . . the connection. I was so pleased.

The whole experience wasn”t about the doughnut. If one of her older brothers had brought me a plastic doughnut, it wouldn”t have been the same. Somehow the gift was exactly right coming from her, even if it was just a toy.

 

The Aha! Moment

And then it dawned on me: Could this be how our giving feels from God”s perspective? Are our gifts to him like plastic doughnuts?

After all, God does not need our gifts or our money. But like a father moved by a gift from his child, perhaps our gifts really can get God”s attention. Suddenly I saw giving from a different perspective.

As early as Cain and Abel, God was quite interested in the gifts of his children. When God “accepted Abel and his gift” (Genesis 4:4, New Living Translation), the word in the original Hebrew text (sha”ah) suggests God paid attention to and gazed at Abel”s gift in a special way.

When Noah stumbled off the ark and offered burnt sacrifices, God “smelled the pleasing aroma” and made a covenant to never destroy the earth with water again (Genesis 8:21). The word nichowach (pleasing aroma) means soothing, quieting, tranquilizing. Like our comfort from a steaming hot coffee on a cool day, God has his sweet aroma moments too.

For 1,500 years under the Law of Moses, the Israelites presented “acceptable offerings” (Leviticus 1:3) to God. Biblically speaking, the word acceptable means “pleasing.” Sure enough, these acceptable gifts resulted in the same delightful aroma-effect God experienced with Noah”s gift.

 

What about Today?

We don”t offer animal sacrifices today; instead, we give gifts of cash and possessions. Do they have the power to get God”s attention in similar ways?

The apostle Paul describes the monetary gifts from the Philippians as a “fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18). The Amplified Bible says of the gifts: “[They are the] fragrant odor of an offering and sacrifice which God welcomes and in which He delights.”

Throughout biblical history, God has shown great interest in certain gifts from his children. Like plastic doughnuts to a little girl”s daddy, these gifts to the heavens prompted reactions from God.

When we give today, seldom do we envision God sitting at his chair in Heaven desiring to gaze at us and our gifts. Instead we might be thinking about the church, the poor, or the various ministries we support. Because giving is a transactional exercise too, it”s easy to miss the relational experience that goes with it.

Everywhere we turn, needs and requests are there. And when we give, it can be difficult to know whether our gifts are really effective.

But we must not forget that God is the primary recipient of our gifts. Meeting needs is secondary. Pleasing God is primary. This should be comforting to us.

 

Batter Up

My mother tells me when I was at the plate in Little League baseball, before tapping the dirt with the bat, I would glance in the stands to see that Mom and Dad were watching. My parents were at all my games. I never once doubted they were there. But as a child does, I still wanted to know they were watching.

As God”s children, we should be looking to him in similar ways. After all, he is watching: “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

After Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings to the heavens, God visited him in a dream. As the poor widow presented her two mites at the temple, Jesus was watching nearby. As Cornelius gave gifts to the poor, God was watching him, too.

God sees our gifts. No matter how large or how small, they are like plastic doughnuts to him.

 

Freedom . . . 

The wealthy find this perspective liberating. Stewarding great wealth and giving wisely and effectively can be burdensome. Those entrusted with this responsibility find it comforting to know that their gifts can still be pleasing to God, regardless of whether they immediately solve the complex problems of the world.

The poor, and those with less to give, often can feel empty about their gifts””how can my gift possibly make a difference? they may wonder. They too are greatly comforted to know God is the primary recipient of our gifts.

 

 . . . and Challenge, too

Of course, this perspective also brings great challenge. Approaching God is no small matter. We learn from the gifts of Cain and Abel that not all gifts are the same to God. Some gifts do not get his attention. Sadly, Cain”s gift did not.

King David knew gifts mattered to God. Someone offered him free materials for a burnt offering. But David refused, saying, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). David knew that when the amount of the gift matters to the giver, it can also matter to God. David wanted his gift to cost him in a meaningful way.

God is also interested in the condition of our hearts. Ananias and Sapphira learned a tragic lesson. Instead of looking up to God with their gifts, they were looking for man”s reactions. Although their gift was large, their heart condition did not please God.

 

Remember the Perspective

As you continue giving, keep this new perspective in view. Our gifts can do a lot of good. They can feed the hungry, heal the sick, encourage the brokenhearted, and spread the good news. But most importantly, they can please God in Heaven by connecting his children to him.

Connecting you and him. Bringing a smile to his face.

Remember that.

 

Jeff Anderson is an elder at his church and the founder of Acceptable Gift (www.AcceptableGift.org). He is the author of Plastic Donuts: A Fresh Perspective on Gifts.

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