Challenging Faith

“All giving constitutes a challenge to faith because there is no guarantee of a return.”

When I heard this statement as part of a sermon on Rogation Sunday, my ears pricked up and my mind started to spin. The rest of the sermon had things to say as well, but this sentence is still the one that has stuck with me. It made, and is still making me think!

For those of us who identify ourselves with the church, whenever we hear the word ‘givings’ our minds go immediately to what we put on the offering plate each Sunday and for that we expect, but are not guaranteed, that the church will be there for us when we need it; for weddings, baptisms, funerals and other rites of passage.

However what intrigues me about this quotation is that first word. “ALL giving constitutes a challenge …” And how true it is! Each time we ‘give’ something away and it doesn’t have the expected return, it is upsetting and we have all had that experience.

I remember many years ago supporting a friend though a difficult time in her life, only to have her move away without a word and without ever getting in touch with me again. It hurt then and it still does. While that hasn’t prevented me from supporting others through the intervening years, I had to look more closely at the ‘why’ of why I did what I did. She needed support and I could offer it. There was no return guaranteed.

You give a gift to someone whether it be something new or a cherished family keepsake, and they don’t cherish it like you did …perhaps you even see it being sold at a garage sale. There is no guarantee that they will cherish it either because of what you, or the item might mean to them.

Every time something like this happens it challenges our faith, our resolve to live in a certain way sharing both ourselves and our goods with others. We all have expectations as to how our gifts will be received - and that’s what givings are essentially, gifts.

The challenge is to focus not on how what we give is received but rather on why we are giving it in the first place. Do we believe in the work that we are supporting with our time or money? If so, then that is enough. Is there a need that we see that needs to be addressed? If so then filling that need, not the thanks we might receive, is enough. Can we help someone else over a rough spot? If so, then that is enough. These are all investments that both challenge us and do not guarantee a visible but have an intrinsic return. Each time we give of ourselves or our goods to others without expectation of a reward, the next time because easier and so we grow and expand in our ability to live a life more closely following the Golden rule.

“If you plant sparing you will reap sparingly, if you plant bountifully you will reap bountifully” 2 Corinthians 9:6 You will reap bountifully the riches of a life lived for others: not in material wealth but in the satisfaction of a life well lived.

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