Great Gifts

Today's Verses -- Acts 10:1 - 8

Context:
After bringing Dorcas back to life, Peter stayed in Joppa for a while with a tanner named Simon.

Text:
1At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!"
4Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked.
The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea."
7When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa. (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

Sometimes it is easy to see God as the Ruler of the Universe, almost like the CEO of some major corporation. He is in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly, but doesn't really pay attention to any specific employee out in the workforce.

These verses throw that 'model' of God out with the trash! God is specifically paying attention to the prayers of a Gentile, a soldier reporting to those who have caused great harm to His son and His people. He pays close attention to our prayers, our gifts, and our service to others.

On the one hand, this is rather scary. God knows the gory details of the times I chose to give hesitantly or not at all. He seeks out those who have been devout and have given generously. Compared with the widow who gave her last penny, I'm sure I don't have a very outstanding giving record.

On the other hand, God loves us and sees us as out children. This morning one of our sons, Kevin, wanted two quarters from his 'spending' jar. It is Popcorn Day at school, and he wanted to take an extra quarter in case one of his friends forgot. It made my heart melt to realize that he is thinking of others and is more than happy to share.

God looks at us the same way. While he does have expectations that we tithe, he smiles when we willingly give to others without thinking much about the impact on our own lives. He isn't counting the pennies we give in an attempt to punish us when we don't give enough...He wants to bless us because we care for others.

I want God to feel good about my giving, just like I felt good about Kevin's. What can you do to make God smile today?