Abram Gives Like Jesus
As we close our week looking at how Abram was a giver, I want us to notice something. Abram's way of giving reminds me of somebody else. It reminds me of Jesus.
I suppose this is the dream for any Christian. We want to remind people of Jesus in some way. Perhaps, like Abram, we might do so by the way we give rather than receive!
Giving Christlike Grace
Think about it: Abram gave generous grace to Lot who had been carried off by evil kings, as we saw on Tuesday. Isn't that a kind of pre-cursor to the story of Jesus? We're all Lot, in a sense, carried off by the evil one having rejected the Savior and settled into sin. But though we rejected Him, the Savior comes to offer us His rescue! Scripture says "He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13-14)
Somebody greater than Abram - Jesus - saved us from the evil one, and brought us back into His kingdom. He gave us grace when we least deserved it.
Giving Christlike Tithes
And what about Abram's giving of a tithe? Does he resemble Jesus here? Yes he does. In Matthew 17 we read this: "After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, 'Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?' 'Yes, he does,' he replied." (Matthew 17:24-25) Jesus was a faithful Jewish man. He paid His tax to the temple. He was a giver, not a taker.
Are we refusing to tithe, when the very one who saved us and set an example for us on earth was a giver, not a taker, in the area of finance?
Giving Christlike Allegiance to God
Of course, above all we see Jesus in Abram's way of giving his allegiance to God. Jesus said this in John 5:19: "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does."
Jesus was committed to God the Father. As a human, He wanted only to do what the Father wanted Him to do.
Remember friends, Abram is a great example to us, but Jesus is the one on whom we fix our eyes. Jesus is the great giver!
I'm grateful for the example of Abram today, and I want to embody the same giving attitude that he had. But above all I am grateful for the giving nature of Jesus. I pray that we His followers will give - give grace, give tithes, give God our allegiance – like Abram, and like Jesus.
