Read His Words Before Ours!
2 Corinthians 5:18-6:10
2 Corinthians 2:15
Jude 1:20-23
Leviticus 2:11-13 
Nothing blows me away and sinks into my heart quite like the uniqueness of generosity.
Especially when I know how much it cost the giver.
Last December, my 6 year-old daughter came home from Store Night at Awana, a club where she learns Bible verses and core biblical truths. For every verse she memorizes, she earns a “buck”. She walked into Store Night with a pocket full of 20 bucks and an excited twinkle in her eye. Later, after much debating on what to buy, she rushed home to show me her treasures. A plastic ring for her sister, a car for her brother, a candy for her other brother, candy for her other sister, a sucker for herself, and a tea light candle holder with a Bible verse on it….for me.
My heart ached from exploding. Why would she buy me something? These were her bucks, she’d waited months for Store Night and worked so hard to earn them.
With teary-eyes, I held her close and told her thank you as her own eyes lit up with delight.
Then the price tag caught my eye.
$10
And tears flowed as my heart broke with love.
She had spent half of her earnings on me and got herself a sucker.
I looked at my daughter, who glowed with giddy happiness at buying me something, and I felt like I was touching a piece of Heaven.
I couldn’t pay her back.
I couldn’t give her more “bucks” or do a single thing to return this favor.
It was priceless.
And I caught God’s view of generous living as I kissed my girl’s sweet cheeks.
The generosity He shows us is boundless.
His kindness, His compassion, His forgiveness, grace, comfort, and love, are everyday reminders of it, but the greatest outpouring is found in the gift of His own Son.
See, He spent all He had when His Beloved hung naked on a tree,
taking the punishment He hadn’t earned.
We can’t pay Him back.
It’s priceless.
His blood is precious.
And the more we lean into that gift and see just how priceless it is, the more often we will find our hearts adoring Him.
And the more we adore, the easier it is to extend His embrace, by giving it away.
I read an interesting verse today in my time with Jesus.
“You are to season each of your grain offerings with salt;
you must not omit…the salt of the covenant.” (Lev 2:13)
Um, what?!
Yes, this is a tiny rule that applied to Old Testament Israelites about sacrifices, but the why is what made me curious. We all know salt is a preservative, and in biblical times, a “salt covenant” meant that the agreement would not end. In Middle Eastern culture, sharing a meal together was also a critical part of entering into a salt covenant because it meant that a deep sense of friendship was involved. The covenant was more than just a contract that couldn’t be retracted; it was about an intimate friendship being preserved as well.
The Grain Offering for the Israelites? It was a “meal” between God and the priests. The portion that was to be burned up for God was only a handful, the rest of the offering was given to the priest as their portion of the “meal”.
The covenant between God and Israel was a “salt covenant”; it couldn’t be broken.
And it was much more than a contract; it represented a restored relationship, a mutual friendship.
But wait, there’s more!
After Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and all of these Levitical offerings were no longer needed, the idea of salt remained. I promise this has a tieback into generosity, bear with me! 🙂
In Colossians 4:6, Paul is in the middle of talking about various relationships (marriages, workplace, fellow Christians, and unbelievers), and he concludes by urging everyone to allow their conversations to be seasoned with salt, no matter who they are talking to or interacting with.
Our lives are meant to reflect that original “salt covenant”!
A covenant we couldn’t possibly keep because of our sin,
so God keeps it for us by His grace.
A grace we are called to extend to everyone within our reach.
“Don’t omit the salt.”
It’s a covenant of deep friendship, a friendship we are to invite others into.
“Don’t omit the salt.”
We’ve looked at so many ways and reasons to give Adoration to the Lord in this series, but the one that honors Him most, is the one that overflows onto others. As we bring praise to the King, look deep into His heart, get wrapped up in His love, stand in amazement at His grace and goodness, His intention is that our conclusion is to give ourselves away.
By sharing grace.
By inviting others in.
By not omitting the salt.
God doesn’t need our adoration;
He wants us to see Him for who He is
so that it motivates us to extend His grace to everyone around us.
My daughter’s generosity affected me so deeply because I knew there was no way to repay her.
The gift God gave us by restoring our relationship with Him is one we could never repay.
And because it was so precious,
I want to give it away just as He gave to me.
Ready for more? Dig Deeper!
Join us for every Journey Study by signing up!
Looking for yesterday’s Journey Study?
Share your thoughts from today’s Study!
Don’t miss today’s Digging Deeper! And we’d love to hear your thoughts from today’s Journey! Comment Here!
Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Adoration Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!
